


What are the odds?

by the_freedom_of_flight



Category: DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: Aoba plays father/brother, Chapter titles are secretly colours, Christmas time!, Conflicting Feelings, Dealing with things you cant change, Dirty Dancing, Feels???, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I hope this isnt completely awful, I'm Bad At Titles, If you dont like weddings get out, Issues, Koujaku has feelings, M/M, Problems, Sei is just little, Sexual Tension, So does Aoba, Wedding flowers, Wedding food, Wedding things, cross dressing, wedding cakes, wedding planners
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-27
Updated: 2015-08-10
Packaged: 2018-04-10 19:25:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 28,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4404344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_freedom_of_flight/pseuds/the_freedom_of_flight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aoba owns a cute joined shop in town that produces the most beautiful, fresh flowers, and the most delicious, special wedding cakes. He sees tons of brides and husbands to be, all exited for their days and very picky about what they'll have at their wedding. Aoba's used to it, he understands. Every couple has a specific colour and taste, be it classy and reserved, or untraditional and crazy. He loves them all. But one young man turns up in his shop with no partner and no idea what he wants, and it's Aoba's turn to shape the scheme to the groom's liking. But there's a small problem. Every minute he spends with Clear Aoba finds himself getting more interested, more attached, and more moony, which is dangerous on a lot of levels.</p><p>Aoba struggles with himself to stay professional and keep it down, hide his feelings. He's got stuff to deal with back at home and he needs to stay strong. His little brother needs him right now, and probably for a long time after. But with his best friend starting to get closer and Clear further, Aoba's slowly caving in, and wants things he shouldn't...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chartreuse

"So... The four tier violet cake. With sugar flower orchids."

"Yes."

"Pearls around the top tier, and a large jeweled initial at the top."

"Yep."

"And fresh white orchids with baby's breath?"

"That's it."

Aoba looked down at his clipboard, his blue hair slipping down over his shoulder as he got down a few more notes in quick graphite strokes. Just a little more he had to do... Finalizing the order and signing the sketch he'd drawn up for the cake, he glanced back up at his customer. She was blonde and in her thirties, smiling and exited. And right she should be - she came to Aoba. That meant her wedding's flowers and cake would be amazing.

"Alright, and just to confirm we're delivering these the morning of the fourth?"

"Yeah, I hope that isn't too soon."

"Not at all, you're perfect." Aoba insisted.

"Oh, good." She smiled, "I would hate for it to be bad because of a rush."

"Nonsense, I would never let that happen." Aoba smiled, standing up and tucking his clipboard under his arm. "I personally guarantee both your flowers and cake will be perfect and on time."

"Thank you! I look forward to seeing them." She smiled and shook his hand one last time before walking to the coat rack and selecting her dark grey garment. The woman disappeared out the door quickly, walking across the slick road and ducking her head under the rain. The weather outside could easily be described as grey, with grey rain falling from dark grey clouds and a dreary grey air around the city. Inside, Aoba was glad for heating and the lemon yellow walls, they were so cheerful and could always bring some light into the shop. It was almost December, which meant rain season for the small Island.

Aoba smiled and watched her leave before lifting his clipboard back up. His eyes drifted over the words he'd jotted down, just making sure he hadn't missed anything or written it down wrong. When his check proved satisfactory he started walking again, heading down the hall to the left of the door. The smell of cake wafted around him halfway there, heavy and buttery and heavenly as he turned into a small room packed with a few stainless steel tables and silver counters. On one side the room had three ovens, with two refrigerators on the other side. Between them was a lockable door to a walk-in freezer. In the middle of the kitchen was Aoba's best friend Koujaku, his hands covered in small dots of blue dye. His navy blue hair was pulled into a ponytail that spilled down his back, his bangs pinned up carefully to keep his hair away from his face. He was holding a tiny paintbrush, wet with edible pink paint, his red eyes sharp in concentration. 

He looked up as he saw Aoba walk in, face breaking into a smile. "You have to try this!" He was working on tiny blue iced cakes with delicate pink flowers on them, all set neatly on a clear tray.

"You got to the petit fours!" Aoba said happily, grinning at the taller man. "I knew you could get the snowflake cake done before lunch."

"Yes, and you have to try this." Koujaku picked up a tiny, perfect square of cake and walked over, cupping a hand underneath and bringing it to Aoba's face.

Aoba was perfectly used to this and leaned in, taking a bite and tasting dyed fondant before the delicious, fluffy centre with a lemony cream filling. "Mmm..." He covered his mouth as he chewed through the bite, the tiny piece tasting like heaven. "Cream cheese pound cake? Good choice... It's absolutely delicious."

"You like it? The cream isn't too much?"

Aoba placed his clipboard on the counter, taking the small cake from Koujaku's hands, "look, a nightmare out of your ovens would still taste like a daydream, Koujaku." He took another bite and hummed, covering his mouth again before mumbling, "but this is definitely not a nightmare."

"Thank you. So they're edible?"

Aoba laughed, nodding. "Yes!" He finished the cake bite and pulled a sheet from his clipboard, lifting it and hanging it on a laundry line they'd tacked to the roof. It hung through the kitchen and was quite convenient for them. "I have another order. This one's smaller but really detailed. You might need the twins to help."

"They're pretty busy with the bowtie cake."

"Get them to help you anyway." Aoba said with a frown. "I don't want you going home with aching hands from all that pipework."

"Alright." Koujaku nodded, placing a small knife into the sink and smiling at him, "don't you have an appointment in three minutes?"

Aoba frowned and checked his watch, "crap, you're right... I'll see you later." He grabbed his clipboard, licking some cake filling off his palm as he headed out of the room. Walking briskly, he passed the consultant room and opened another door that had just been installed a few months ago. He was still getting used to seeing it, but it was a good thing. Of course it was. Aoba had started out with his childhood best friend Koujaku and the twins, (both very skilled workers who helped Koujaku in the bakery,) running a small wedding cake business and always dreaming of expanding. After a few years man named Noiz from Germany had come to them with an idea to join the shop with another, and work together under the same name. Aoba had been very skeptical of the man at first, judging him on the numerous piercings he had and only seeing a stern expression and stubborn attitude. But Noiz really did know his flowers. Despite his tough shell, he knew exactly how to help them flourish and produce the most beautiful shades. So he ran the flower part of their business, managing the orders and even using his own greenhouse in the back of his property to grow all of their flowers.

Aoba walked into the flower shop, greeted by the earthy smell of fresh, sharp flower stalks and fragrant roses. The walls were the same lemon yellow as in the other three rooms. Noiz was carefully snipping the leaves from a tiger lily and looked up once he saw Aoba walk in.

"Orchids." Aoba began.

"Orchids?" Noiz raised a pierced eyebrow.

"Orchids." Aoba confirmed, setting his clipboard down and looking at the vase of flowers his friend was preparing. It was beautiful and had orange and magenta lillies in it, with just a hint of yellow. "That's really pretty."

"I know. What kind of orchids?"

"White ones." Aoba said after double-checking his clip board.

Noiz looked like Aoba had personally offended him. "At this time of year?"

"Work your magic, Noiz." Aoba said, heading to the door. "I gotta go."

"They'll be ugly and wilted!" Noiz called after him.

"Everyone knows its against your physical ability to put out wilted flowers!" Aoba called back down the hall as he headed to the reception desk. He pulled a large white binder from next to the computer, opening it and popping the rings apart. He unclipped all of the papers from his clipboard, placing them into the binder. Another customer. Good. He grabbed new sheets for the cake ideas, draw-up, and for flowers. He added another sheet to the clipboard just in case, as well as grabbing another pencil. He heard the door to the shop open and smiled, quickly getting them all under the clip and releasing pressure. He looked up, glad his customer was just on time. Late ones could sometimes overlap and that was a pain.

The man standing in front of the door was young. He was taller than Aoba, but he could still be described as small somehow. His hair was short, barely falling past his chin and snow white. He was holding a see through umbrella, dotted all over with rain which he carefully shook out before pulling in to fold into itself. The umbrella he tucked into the large pocket of his white coat before turning to Aoba. His face was very handsome, his eyes were big and strange, the iris' a rich dark pink that reminded Aoba of Noiz' special pink roses.

"Um, welcome." Aoba said quickly, not wanting it to seem like he was staring at the young man who'd just come into his store.

"Hello. Are you... Aoba Seragaki?" The man asked, hands reaching up to pull and loosen his lemon yellow scarf. His voice was soft and a little high, and Aoba instantly liked it.

"Yes, that's me." Aoba smiled back, walking around the desk with his clipboard. He offered a hand to shake to the man. "You must be... Clear?"

"Yes, I'm Clear." He shook with a gloved hand, expression gentle, before following Aoba to sit down at a coffee table with two couches on either side. 

As Aoba sat down opposite the other, he said, "so, tell me about the wedding you're having."

"Oh, uh, well my fiancé's name is Mink... And the wedding is next month, on the twentieth." Clear rubbed his gloved hands together, looking at Aoba nervously.

"Where is it?"

"At a fancy hotel downtown. I'm not sure which one." He admitted.

"Okay, and what is the theme of your wedding?" Aoba asked with a curious frown. It was unlike someone to come here not knowing every single detail of their wedding.

"I- We were hoping you could help with that."

"You want me to pick out the theme for your wedding? What if it dosent go with the venue or what you're wearing?" Aoba asked.

Clear fidgeted, obviously nervous. He lowered his voice slightly, "in all honesty... The only thing we've picked out is the venue."

"Nothing else?"

"Nothing else."

"But your wedding is in a month, normally people would be jumping out of their skin to go over the details."

"I just... Havent been inspired." Clear said quietly, a small frown on his small face. "And that's why I came to you? I was hoping you could help me with that... I mean, you'd already be taking care of the flowers and cake, and the venue is set up... Other than food what else would you have to help with?"

"Um." Aoba said quietly. "Lets see, décor, timing, invitations, did you do those?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Okay. The midnight snacks, the music, entertainment, tables, transitions, and there's probably more." He frowned.

Clear was also frowning. "That's more than I'd thought of... Could... Could you handle that much?"

"You want me to be your wedding planner?" Aoba realized. "Don't you have one?"

"No."

Aoba rubbed his face with his hands. Clear needed him... But what if Noiz or Koujaku got upset that he was doing more than his usual job was? He'd be away from the shop more often, and probably have to cancel appointments, which lost them money... "Uh..." But he couldn't just let Clear be stranded.

"I'd pay you for all of your working hours." Clear assured quickly. "How much work could it be?"

"Uh, I don't know yet. But we could just set a price for the whole wedding..." He offered hesitantly.

"I'm fine with that." Clear nodded, looking calm. "Name the price, as long as it's fair. Just please help me with it."

Aoba sighed softly, feeling himself caving in. "Alright. I'll do it."

Clear nodded, a relived sigh on his lips. "Thank you."

"If I may ask... Why isn't your husband here with you? Or at least helping to plan the wedding?"

Clear's expression changed again, looking worried. "We... Havent been getting along very well the past few weeks. He picked the hotel, but left everything else about the wedding to me."

"I see." Aoba frowned. He felt bad for Clear and felt like he needed to cheer him up. After a few seconds he stood. "I don't usually do this, but would you like to come with me back to the kitchen and meet our baker?" Whenever Aoba was sad Koujaku always managed to cheer him up, he would do whatever he could to bring a smile back to Aoba's face.

Clear, who's smile Aoba had never seen, looked hesitant. "Are you sure? I wouldn't want to disturb him during work."

"Koujaku is probably on lunch by now." Aoba assured.

"Well... If you think it's alright." Clear stood up, glancing at the clock.

"Oh, do you have somewhere to be?" Aoba asked.

"No, I have lots of time. I just didn't realize it was lunchtime." Clear explained.

"Alright. Come on then. You can leave your coat here if you want, it wont be stolen."

Clear chose to keep his coat but did leave his umbrella on the consulting table before following him down the hall. Aoba smiled as he saw Clear inhale once the heavenly cake smell hit them. "That's so good... Is that cake?"

"Koujaku!" Aoba chirped, walking into the kitchen and seeing the man still bent over the petit fours. "You're supposed to be on lunch!"

"I just want to get these done!" He explained before noticing their guest and looking back to Aoba in surprise. Aoba simply nodded and the baker's red eyes flickered back to Clear. "Hi. I'm Koujaku, the baker... Uh, I would shake your hand but I'm covered in pink paint." He said sheepishly.

"It's okay, I already like you cause you make cake." Clear said with a giggle. "It smells amazing, by the way."

"Thank you." The baker said softly, smiling.

"Clear is here for an appointment." Aoba said quickly, not wanting Koujaku to know how much work he might be doing for Clear for some reason. "But he was feeling a little uninspired so I thought I'd bring him here."

"Oh, would you like some cake?" Koujaku asked with a grin.

"Oh, um, yes please!" A smile grew on Clear's face, transforming it completely. He looked younger and more easygoing, just a tad sheepish as he watched Koujaku start to bustle around the kitchen.

Koujaku knew just what he was looking for. He grabbed a fancy looking plate, dusting it nicely with powder sugar by a flick of his wrist. He set it down infront of his petit fours, lifting one onto the plate before carrying it across the kitchen.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Clear asked hesitantly. 

"Of course. Whenever Koujaku makes cake, he does lots of extra." Aoba smiled sheepishly at Clear, "I tend to get peckish between consulting, and he hooks me up."

"Really? You look good for someone who eats cake all day."

Aoba blinked, cheeks feeling suddenly hot at the unexpected compliment. "Yeah, well, I try to eat healthy at home." He mumbled.

Koujaku set the plate down in front of them both on a table. There were four small pieces of cake with a fork on the plate - a vanilla, chocolate, red velvet, and one of the petit fours. All were iced perfectly, the cut also exact. Aoba smiled, savouring the look of awe on Clear's face as he took in the plate. Koujaku was naturally skilled and loved baking. His eyes found every flaw to the crumb and wouldn't allow anyone to see them before fixing it up. Not a single cake left the kitchen that wasn't perfection.

"So we can do any number of tiers or any shape for your cake." Aoba began, holding the clipboard at his hips with both hands as he watched Clear take the plate. "Not only do they taste amazing, but any flavour you want can we will custom make your cake to any theme."

"Theme?" Clear asked, taking his first bite and eating it quickly. "Like, the theme of the wedding?"

"Yeah, but sometimes our couples have a specific inside joke or something. Like if they met at a baseball game, the cake is a stadium and we can do fun stuff like have a bag of peanuts and a baseball bat and a hot dog, which are all cake of course, and it looks fabulous."

"That's adorable." Clear smiled, looking down at the petit four he was pushing his fork into. "But Mink and I met through friends, and I don't feel comfortable with eating people's faces."

"Okay, maybe something else. What do you call him? Any special pet names?" Aoba asked.

"Um." Clear chewed thoughtfully. "Mink?"

"That's fine, we don't have to decide on your cake just yet." Aoba chuckled, looking at Koujaku. "He'll be back, his wedding isn't for another little while."

"Thank you for the cake." Clear carefully set the plate down, he'd taken a bite out of every flavour but mostly from the red velvet. "I like that one the best." He smiled and pointed to it.

"Thanks for stopping by, Aoba likes to keep me hidden." Koujaku chuckled. "I guess we have a flavour picked out then.

"That's a good start." Aoba chuckled, heading to the door. "Come on, let's meet Noiz and see if he can inspire you."

"Oh, yes, if Noiz cant inspire him no one can." Koujaku rolled his eyes. 

"I'll visit you again." Clear laughed as he followed after Aoba.

"Koujaku is very sweet, he's the best baker for miles and miles around. Trust me, your cake is in good hands." Aoba said.

"Good, I'm glad... So what does Noiz do?"

"Noiz does flowers." Aoba said, pushing open the door to the shop. 

"Why are flowers that important for a wedding?" 

"Oh, you did not just say that and come into my shop." Noiz was still focused on his vase of lilies and didn't look up.

"Flowers are used to set the mood of the wedding." Aoba provided, smiling. Usually all of his brides knew everything there was to know about flowers and he couldn't properly describe their purpose. "Not only do they smell amazing and are beautiful to look at, they correspond to colour themes and set the mood. If you had a country themed wedding, you would use daises or baby's breath... For a wedding focusing on the beauty of the venue, you would use... Roses." Aoba said softly, smiling as he watched Clear admire a row of bluebells. "Or lilies. Or peonies."

"What's a peony?" Clear asked curiously.

"Oh dear." Noiz sighed, setting his scissors down.

"What Noiz means is that he'd be willing to help you learn more about flowers and decide what you want." Aoba cut in.

Clear bit his lip, shrugging sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I just really don't know what I want."

Noiz gave Aoba a look that said nothing if not, _why is this dolt in my shop?_

"Actually, I have a better idea." Aoba said, heading back to the door and opening it. "Let's go to the venue. I'll bring my binders and show you some things that will match. We can have lunch there, get to know each other better, and maybe develop some ideas for the wedding." 

Clear walked through the door, looking back as Aoba followed him. "That sounds good."

Aoba smiled, "just wait here one second. I can drive you, is that okay?"

"Sure." Clear gave him an easy smile, looking more comfortable around Aoba.

"I'll be right back." Aoba said, heading back down the hallway to Koujaku's kitchen. He hurried inside, heading to a cabinet among many tucked behind the door. "I'm going for a drive." He called to Koujaku, pulling a pair of keys out of his pants pocket.

"Where?" Koujaku sounded puzzled and walked back so he could see Aoba.

"To Clear's venue. He has no idea what to do with his wedding. I'm gonna help him out a little."

"Alright, just don't forget you have another appointment at three thirty."

"Don't worry, I'll be back before then." Aoba headed back across the room, passing the baker.

"Don't get too attached." Koujaku teased as he opened an oven.

"What is that supposed to mean? You know I always stay professional, there's nothing to worry about." He rolled his eyes.


	2. Cinnabar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aoba and Clear have a chat and then Aoba gets home and a little more backstory about our lovable wedding planner is revealed ^.^

The first thing Aoba told Clear about was roses.

The new wedding planner was eager to get started once they arrived and were walking through the Oval tower (the name of the hotel,) because it was so beautiful. The floors were shining like they were polished twenty four times a day on the hour, the ceiling was high and the decorations were beautiful and crystal. The colours were all cold - light blue, purple, dark blue, and whites. Everything was lavish and very fancy. Once they were sitting at the small restaurant attached to the hotel, Aoba pulled out his binders from his bag.

"Roses are available in all colours naturally except blue, green and black, or any combination colours. You can still get those chemically, but they're a little more expensive." Aoba was saying, his blue hair sliding down his shoulder on his jacket as he slowly stirred his tea, his other hand holding the binder.

"Black roses? That's kind of cool." Clear commented, hands in his lap as he watched Aoba flip through his binder.

Dark brown eyes flickered up, a small smile forming on his face as he set his spoon down. "Black roses are beautiful, but they mean death."

"Black roses _mean_ death?"

"Yes, all colours of roses are matched to a specific meaning. Black ones are for death."

"Wow, I never knew roses had meanings..."

Aoba laughed slightly, "just be glad Noiz isn't the one telling you this, he'd be exasperated."

"What other things do roses mean?" Clear asked curiously.

"Well," Aoba pulled his chair closer, along with his binder and pointed to the page. There were various different colours of roses, with names like 'peach orange', 'lavender,' and 'celadon green'. They were all arranged under different colour schemes. Aoba's eyes went to Clear's scarf, before his fingers brushed over the yellow column. "Yellow roses mean friendship and joy, or welcome back."

"Friendship." Clear said regretfully. "Not good for a wedding. But I... Like yellow."

"What other colours do you like?" Aoba asked encouragingly.

"Um, I like pink." Clear said thoughtfully. 

"Pink is good. Pink roses symbolize appreciation, grace, and true happiness." Aoba smiled, pointing to the pink column. They had baby pink, mauve pink, rose pink, and magenta.

"I like the rose pink colour." Clear smiled, touching the flower, it looked very natural and clean.

"The magenta one looks like your eyes." Aoba commented.

Clear slowly smiled at Aoba, looking surprised. "Um... Thank you."

Aoba bit his lip, regretting the comment, He should not have said that. "Sure. Um, how about green ones?"

Clear looked down at the sheet, and Aoba felt worse about the compliment for some reason. He tried to push it out of his mind as Clear read through the colours. "Celedon, green apple, and emerald... What do green roses mean?"

"Uh, nothing." Aoba tucked his hair behind his ear, chuckling softly. "They aren't natural, and when people started assigning them with feelings they weren't around yet."

"Okay." Clear smiled, moving to the white roses. "What about them? I like white."

"White roses. Very pretty. They mean purity, innocence, and youthfulness."

Clear's pink eyes were soft as they scanned the pictures of white roses. "There's Ivory, silver, or pure white... I really like them, but I don't know... Maybe it's not such a good idea to highlight the age gap between Mink and I."

"How old is mink?" Aoba asked after a brief pause.

Clear looked up at him, "he's thirty seven."

"Oh? And how old are you?"

"I'm twenty four."

"Twenty four? You guys are... Thirteen years apart?" Aoba asked, surprise evident in his tone. He carefully turned the page to rose arrangements. "That's interesting. What does Mink do?"

"He's a soldier, a captain in the army actually." Clear smiled, rubbing the back of his neck lightly. "That's kind of why we're having a winter wedding. I prefer summer weddings much more, but he'll be shipped away by then."

A smile grew on Aoba's face, hands settling flat on either side of the binder. "Inspiration!"

"What?"

"You like summer weddings?"

"Yeah, if I could choose then it would definitely be in July."

"Really? Well there we go. That's our theme. It's cold and rainy outside, so we're going to bring everyone a little summer in this wedding." 

Clear looked like he was starting to warm up to the idea of a wedding. "Really?!?"

"Of course, we can do that." Aoba smiled. "Summer colours like yellow and pink and blue, but subtle and graceful. Wind chimes. Lemonade champagne. Individual, small cream cheese cakes."

"That sounds amazing." Clear exclaimed.

"Do you really like it?"

"Yes!"

"Well, then let's start planning." Aoba chuckled, reaching over and taking the small neglected teacup. 

Over the next few hours, Aoba and Clear flipped through page after page of flowers. For summer, Aoba suggested orange roses, which meant desire, enthusiasm, and passion. Clear agreed happily, and suggested pairing the orange roses with a smaller white flower to ring around it, with some leafy plant.

"That's really pretty." Aoba smiled, "so your colours would be a soft orange and white... For the white flowers I suggest either baby's breath, or white bluebells." He pointed between the two, letting Clear inspect them.

"I think with the bluebells there might be too much going on... I like the baby's breath, even though that name is really weird."

Aoba chuckled, "the name is pretty strange, isn't it?" He was just about to keep talking when he heard his phone ring. "Oh, excuse me. I have to take this. You can look through the binder all you want." Aoba reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out, getting up and walking to the windows as he answered. "Hello?"

_"About that three thirty appointment..."_

Aoba checked his watch, dismay flooding him. "Oh, crap, I'm so sorry, Koujaku, I meant to be back-"

_"I know, I know, I can see you're getting into details with Clear's wedding. It's alright, I handled it. All they wanted was a cake so I didn't have to deal with Noiz either."_

"Oh, good." Aoba sighed in relief. "Thank you for dealing with it, Jaku. I couldn't get by without you, truly."

_"I know, I'm amazing. You should finish up with Clear and head home, I think you got a few missed calls by the front desk and they're from your home phone."_

Aoba frowned, wondering what that was all about. Why hadn't his cell been called then? "Alright, are you sure you're okay with closing shop alone?"

_"Yes, Aoba, I'm fine."_

"Okay, thank you again, Koujaku."

A soft chuckle. _"Your welcome. Bye, Aoba."_

"Bye." Aoba smiled lightly, looking down at his phone and hanging up. He walked back to Clear, who had ordered a lemonade some time ago and was now finishing it.

"What was that?" Clear asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing, Koujaku triggered the fire alarm back at the bakery and forgot how to turn it off." Aoba assured. He couldn't worry the customer, or make him feel like a burden. "So let's see about the décor, since we're decided on your colour scheme and the flowers."

\---

Hours later, Aoba finally rolled into his reserved parking spot down by the street next to a large apartment building. He'd driven Clear back to the shop, which was closed, and given him his card and assured him to call any time.

Clear had looked worried, "are you sure it's alright we went this late? It's past dinner time." He had said.

Aoba simply brushed it off. As long as he hadn't inconvenienced Clear, then how long they spent together was fine. Now, thinking back to the conversation, he was wondering if he hadn't really been with Clear for too long. They had spent almost seven hours together, just talking about weddings and sometimes straying off topic. Aoba learned more about Clear's fiancé Mink, that he was leaving right after new year's, and that Clear was currently living with him in the suburbs. These days Mink was always home, and usually cooked for Clear. He seemed like a nice husband to have, despite having to leave.

He pushed those thoughts from his mind as he walked out of the elevator and down the hall. He pulled a key ring from his bag, picking one key and pushing it into the lock, turning his wrist. "Hello?" He called cheerfully, shutting the door behind himself as he pulled his bag off along with his wet jacket. "Hello? Sei?" He walked through the halls and to his room, dropping his keys and satchel on his bed before heading to the living room, and then the TV room. Just as expected, there he was.

Sei was laying upside down on the couch, his booted feet draping over the back of the couch, his shoulder length black hair touching the ground with his gloved hands. He was wearing a plain white shirt, as well as black leggings and a skirt. Skirts were, of course, for girls, but Aoba found Sei's odd style to be adorable. He never wore anything but black and white, couldn't even be convinced to get something grey. His face was pale as ever and his eyes dark, not looking at Aoba as he entered the room and staying focused on the TV.

"Sei, how many times have I told you not to do that?" Aoba frowned. "You'll get dizzy and faint. I don't need a fainting teenager." He teased, crossing his arms. Dread started to coil in his stomach, he could feel it. Something was wrong.

Sei slowly sat up, letting his legs drop of the couch and then turning to sit normally. His black fedora was next to him, and he ran his finger along the bridge of the hat.

"I'm sorry I'm home so late... How are you feeling?" Aoba asked hesitantly.

"Two."

"That low?" Aoba was really worried now. He walked over, sitting down next to Sei. He knew he had to usually pry information from him about what was getting him down, or making him feel bad about himself. Sei was often bullied for numerous reasons, be it his clothes, or his quiet nature or handful of problems. He had asthma and obsessive compulsive disorder, as well as social anxiety. Sei was an average B student, with C's in gym and science, but Aoba knew he could do better if only he had the confidence. Middle school was rough, and this was his last year to prepare him for highscool. Sei was almost sixteen. "What happened at school today?"

"Um, nothing. I didn't get bullied." Sei said quietly.

"Then why are you so down?"

"Well... I had my presentation today."

Dread filled Aoba as his eyes widened and realization dawned on him. He was supposed to finish his three thirty appointment quickly and head back to the school to watch Sei's special presentation, which the teenager had been preparing for for months. Sei had read it out loud many times to Aoba, who knew the presentation and could recite it in his sleep, but that wasn't really the issue.

"Did you talk in front of the people?" Aoba asked in concern, feeling like crap because he hadn't remembered.

"I-I tried." Sei said weakly. "I didn't... Really finish it."

"Oh, honey, come here." Aoba frowned, touching his shoulder and wanting to hold him.

"No." Sei frowned, looking at Aoba. "Why didn't you come? You said you'd be there." He looked truly, awfully hurt. His eyes were watering up and Aoba hated himself for that.

"I'm sorry, Sei, things have been really crazy at work and I completely forgot."

"You talk to people." Sei said harshly. "About flowers. And cake. And wedding shit. How hard can your job be? You just forgot about me while doing it?"

"Yes, Sei, and I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you somehow, I promise. I can get the school to set it up again, you can present tomorrow-"

"No! That's not what I want. I don't want them to just remember how stupid I looked today." Sei said, his voice filled with anger.

Aoba swallowed thickly, he didn't know what to do. "Okay, what else do you want? Whatever it is, if it's in my power, we can do it."

Sei turned his face away, glaring at the TV. The colourful light from the screen bathed his face in blue and white, bright in contrast to the darkening apartment. The tears were finally marking wet paths down his cheeks, breathing shaky. "Grandma Tae would have been there."

That was a low blow, and they both knew it. Grandmother Tae had raised Aoba since he was just a little tiny boy, and was sad to see him leave and start his own life after he was done with all his school. So to fill her loneliness and now idle hands, she decided to adopt Sei, who'd been thrown in and out of foster care and group homes all his life. When Grandma Tae died a few months ago, Sei was so scared he'd be sent straight back to the public home, and Aoba took him in. They had met a few times and got along well, but Aoba had never expected to be juggling a teenager along with his new business. Aoba had just managed to save up enough money to move into a real house, a two story one, where he could properly raise Sei for the next few years. His current apartment was awful and they were both eager to pack up all their things in boxes that now occupied the hallway.

Aoba swallowed hard, "yes, she probably would have. And I'm sorry I'm not her."

Sei hugged his knees to his chest, just blocking out the conversation. He was clearly done talking about it.

"Did you eat?" Aoba asked, his voice breaking slightly. He was only just starting to be an adult, he was just twenty five, and he had no idea how to deal with children. This was a nightmare.

"Yes. It's in the kitchen."

"Okay." In his head, Aoba translated the blunt words to _go away,_ and got up to walk to the kitchen. His dinner was cold, but that was a good sign. Sei had eaten long before Aoba got home when he was hungry. At least the kid knew how to make chicken and rice.

After dinner Aoba silently checked on Sei, who was still watching TV. Normally it would be bedtime but Aoba let him keep watching, wanting him to calm down. He had a brief shower, changing into his pyjamas and hitting the bed. He closed his eyes with a sigh, starting to drift off before hearing a soft noise in the hall. The door slowly opened and Aoba made out the figure of Sei's lanky body - dressed in black pants, with a long white sleeved shirt. Aoba shifted over to one side of his bed as Sei slowly shut the door behind himself and padded into the room, climbing up onto the bed. He was wearing black socks and fingerless gloves, Aoba noticed. He lifted the blankets up and Sei quickly ducked under before too much heat was lost. Draping the blanket around the smaller figure and snuggling up closer to him, he closed his eyes and tucked his chin over the top of his head.

It had taken Aoba almost half a year, but he was slowly getting used to the odd way Sei communicated without using words, and this wasn't the first time Aoba ended up with the little kid shivering in his arms under the blankets. Sei would come to Aoba's room sometimes and end up sleeping on the floor next to the bed if Aoba was already asleep. This only happened during thunderstorms and big fights. Aoba slowly realized wasn't Sei's way of forgiving Aoba, it was his way of telling him he was scared.

Aoba slowly stroked Sei's hair, knowing it comforted the younger.

"You're the worst dad ever." Sei mumbled into his neck.

"But the best brother ever, huh?" Aoba smirked, that earning a weak strike to his leg by a socked foot. "Sorry."

Aoba fell silent as Sei slowly fell asleep against him, shivers subsiding as his skin warmed. Aoba really did love the kid, but raising him was so difficult. He didn't know how to get Sei to talk to him. Whenever Aoba asked him how he was feeling, Sei answered on a scale of one to ten, ten being the best and zero the absolute worst, like Aoba was a counsellor. As far as Aoba knew, Tae never had problems like that. But Sei was just little when Tae had him. Aoba was just confused and hoped Sei trusted him and didn't hate him from the bottom of his heart and secretly plot murder.

Aoba closed his eyes, drifting off as well. He'd just make it up to Sei in the morning.

\---

The next morning Aoba got up early so he could drop Sei off at school. He knew the kid hated riding the bus with a fiery passion, and while Aoba didn't understand that he knew driving him was a kindness. 

As he drove down the streets with Sei in the passenger's side clutching his bag, Aoba was mulling it over. How could he make it up to him?

"Here's our stop." He sighed, halting in front of the large stairs that led to the city's best middle school.

Sei pulled his backpack over a shoulder, opening the door without a word.

"Are you sure you want to go to school today?" Aoba asked, making Sei freeze.

"Really?" He asked, glancing back at Aoba with a large smile.

"I mean, it's Friday." Aoba pointed out. "You worked really hard on that presentation, i say we're both earned the weekend off."

"Really?" Sei repeated, slumping back into the passenger seat with an even bigger smile. He didn't close the door yet.

"Yes, but there's one condition."

"What is it?"

"Two, actually. I have to make a call, and later on today I have a meeting and you have to stay outside in a waiting room. The meeting is like ten minutes long though."

"Done!" Sei exclaimed, pulling the door shut. "Quick, lets get out of here!"

Aoba chuckled and drove away from the school, back into the morning traffic. Once they stopped at a red light Aoba pulled his phone out, pressing one button and letting his phone speed dial Koujaku as it hooked up to his car. 

_"Hey, Aoba, what's up?"_ The baker's happy voice came through the speakers.

"Hi, Koujaku." Sei said with a small smile. He liked the baker because he often brought him treats.

_"Hey, Sei, shouldn't you be in school?"_ Koujaku asked with a chuckle.

"Aoba's taking the day off with me, we're gonna spend some time together." Sei said happily.

"Yeah, Koujaku, i need you to call and reschedule my two appointments today, if that's alright?" Aoba said as he drove.

 _"Sure thing, Aoba."_

"Thanks, Jaku, I knew I could count on you." Aoba smiled, "I've gotta go now."

_"Alright, bye."_

"Bye." Aoba reached over and hit the end call button, hearing the three dull beeps that signalled the end of the call. "There. Done. So what do you want to do today?"

"Um, I don't know." Sei pushed his backpack to the back seats, smiling. "What can we do?"

"We can go see a movie, or go for manicures." Aoba chuckled. 

"Arent manicures girly things?"

"Only if you ask for pink nail polish."

\---

They did end up going for manicures, but Aoba chose only clear nail polish because of his job. He watched as Sei gazed between the rows and rows of different colours before finally selecting an ivory white. Aoba had been expecting that, Sei probably was never going to get out of his black and white obsession.

Their nails were soaked and filed down and they got hand massages, which were strange but felt oddly good. The nail polish was applied perfectly, and Sei looked happy with his nails. He'd even taken off his fingerless gloves and left them in his back pocket. Aoba got them both ice cream cones which they ate as they walked through the mall and even went into a pet store when they were finished.

Aoba watched Sei fawn over a small energetic black and white puppy with a soft chuckle before looking up as someone called his name.

"Aoba, its nice to see you here!" It was Clear, a smile on his face as he walked over into the shop. He was alone and looking cheerful, his white coat and yellow scarf on just like the day before.

"Hello, Clear." Aoba smiled back, tucking his hands into his jacket pockets.

"Are you thinking of getting a pet?"

"Uh, no, but my brother sure is." Aoba pointed to Sei, who's cheeks were getting licked by the small puppy.

"You have a brother? I didn't know that." Clear smiled.

"Yeah, I do." Aoba smiled, watching as Sei walked over.

"We're moving into the new house soon, we could totally get a puppy!" He exclaimed, ignoring Clear.

"You'd have to clean up after it and cut its nails and give it baths. Just like what I do to you." Aoba teased.

Sei laughed, "I'd do it all! I want a puppy!"

"Puppies are a good thing for children to have." Clear piped up. "It teaches them responsibility."

Aoba sighed as Sei agreed enthusiastically and exchanged names with Clear.

"I'm one of Aoba's clients, he's planning my wedding."

"Oh, fun." Sei said, obviously thinking it was anything but. Wedding stuff bored most teenagers, Aoba had noticed. That was one thing they all had in common. 

"I should go, I have an appointment with my hairdresser." Clear said, smiling at Aoba. "But i'll see you later." He waved before walking off.

"Dosent he have a job?" Sei raised an eyebrow.

"He was probably thinking the same thing about me." Aoba pointed out.

"Well, anyway, I still want a puppy."

\---

Instead of getting Sei a puppy Aoba distracted him with a movie. Sei didn't usually like movies but this one he was exited for and ate all of their popcorn before it even began. After seeing it it was time for the appointment, and Aoba headed into the clinic with Sei, who stayed in the waiting room with a magazine. The clinic was for an eye doctor, who was just giving Aoba results on Sei's check up. As soon as Aoba had legally adopted Sei, they went to the doctor because Aoba wanted to make sure his immunizations were up to date and everything was going okay with his asthma. After the doctor did a general check-up on Sei, he suggested the kid go for an eye check up because he might need glasses.

Aoba was really hoping Sei didn't, because he knew glasses were rather expensive. He walked into the meeting room, only having to wait a few seconds before the doctor was in and greeted him.

"So, what's the verdict?" Aoba asked curiously.

"The verdict is a little complicated." The doctor explained.

"Complicated?" Aoba was instantly concerned.

"Yes. The test ran a little longer than usual because we had to do a different one than for glasses. Your doctor didn't want to worry you and so he didn't mention this."

"Um, so what was the test for?" Aoba asked in concern.

"Special cones inside of Sei's eyes, to see if they were all present."

Aoba had no idea what that meant, but it sent a shock through his heart. "Are they?"

"Yes, they are all there, but some of them are damaged."

"What does that mean? What are eye cones?"

"Mr. Seragaki, let me explain." The doctor said calmly. "The retina contains rods and cones that help us to see objects in different colors and varying degrees of brightness. The cones are photoreceptors that allow us to distinguish among colors and different shades of these colors. The cones contain light-sensitive pigments that are particular to a range of wavelengths."

Aoba didn't like where this was going. "Alright, move on?"

"Mr. Seragaki, have you ever noticed your child having problems with differentiating colours?"

"He's my brother." Aoba said sharply. "And he's not colour blind."

"My apologies. Your brother can see colour, but he has Tritanopia. This is also called blue-yellow colour blindness."

"Tri- Tritanopia?"

"Yes. The damaged cones in his eyes detect short wavelength, and are linked with the colour blue."

"Sei cant see the colour blue?" Aoba could feel his eyes watering up, his throat closing painfully.

"Actually blue is one of the few shades he can see." The doctor had a clipboard, much like Aoba's clipboard for his work. He lifted the clip and pulled out a piece of paper, passing it to Aoba with grave eyes.

Aoba took the page, taking a deep breath as he gazed down at it. There were two printed out pictures, and the first was a line of pencils in a row. There was dark blue, light blue, a peachy pink colour, and then a few shades of red and light pink. There was also a black pencil right at the end. Aoba felt his heart stutter before he looked up at the doctor. "He can only see this? Red, blue, and black?"

The doctor gave a small nod, "yes."

Aoba breathed a shaky sigh, looking down at the second picture. It was very simple, just a picture of a sidewalk with shadows next to the beach, but next to it was an altered version of the picture, which was what Sei could see. It had a red hue, and the sandy beached looked like a light purple. Some of the blue looked almost green. Aoba could only describe it as... Broken. The image looked broken and wrong.

He took a deep, shuddery breath before looking back at the doctor. "Does this have anything to do with the way he dresses?" He looked behind his head to a window that he could see Sei though. The kid was reading the magazine pressed against his knees, calves and thighs pressed together as he curled up on the chair.

"Does he always dress in black and white?"

"Yes."

"This is most likely because colours confuse him. I don't know if he realises his eyes are wrong. But for him, blues can appear with a slight green tinge, yellows and oranges appear pinkish, and purple colors appear deep red. This way of dressing is probably much easier for him. White is white, no one ever confuses him on that, and black is simply black. He dresses in shades, and not colours."

Aoba nodded, more tears welling in his eyes as he gazed back down at the pictures. "How did his eyes get damaged?"

"They weren't grown in properly from birth. It's inherited from family members. Do your parents have any eye problems?"

"Um, Sei is adopted. His father is in jail and we haven't ever heard from his mom." Aoba explained shakily. "But is there any way to fix this, or help him?"

"Eye surgery isn't an option. In terms of colour blindness, Tritanopia is extremely rare and fewer than one percent of males on earth have it. There is some medication I can prescribe, but it does have some bad side affects."

"Okay. Just make sure none of them are too rough, he has a very weak body." Aoba said quietly. "I don't want him getting sick because of a problem in his eyes. Is there any way I can keep it from getting worse?"

"No. It wont get any worse, all we can do for now is hope the pills have some effect." The doctor wrote down a note before giving it to Aoba. It was a prescription. "Come back in two weeks, so we can see how the medication is going on him."

"Okay. Thank you." Aoba said quietly. "How do I... Is there any other way I can help?"

"Just try to explain it to him." The doctor said softly. "It's all probably very confusing for him. And don't feel bad about not noticing it. Most people with colour blindness don't realize it themselves until they get much older."

"Okay." Aoba said again, echoing himself. "Thank you." He walked with the doctor out of the room before asking, "can i keep this?" He asked, lifting the picture of the pencils and the beach sidewalk.

"Of course."

"Thank you." Aoba said before heading back to the other room. He wiped his eyes, taking a deep breath and trying to relax himself. "Lets go, Sei." He called, heading to the doors and folding the paper carefully.

"What's that?" Sei asked, moving to his side and following to the car.

"Just a paper. Sei, I need to talk to you." Aoba slid into the car, but didn't turn it on. The rain had let up but it was still chilly outside, so Sei slipped quickly into the passenger seat.

"Have you been crying?" Sei asked with a frown, noticing it up close.

"Yes." Aoba sighed, not wanting to hide it.

"Why?"

"Because... Sei, did you know that you're colour blind?" Aoba asked softly.

"Colour blind?" Sei echoed, frowning gently. "I- I can see colour."

"Yes, but not all of them. You can mostly only see blue and red." Aoba said gently.

"I don't understand." Sei's eyes were watering, and Aoba's were all over again. "So blue isn't blue? What's something that's definitely blue?"

"Blueberries." Aoba said after a few moments. "The sky, on a warm day, the ocean. My hair."

"What's something that isn't blue?"

Aoba swallowed before saying, "people. Our skin isn't blue, or red. How- how do you see it?" 

"I don't know." Sei said sharply, getting angry. "It looks white but it might not be white!"

"White? No, you can see white." Aoba said quickly. "White is white. White is good. People are white. Like- Like clouds, right? And cows. And the puppy, back at the store." This was at the same time the strangest and most painful conversation Aoba had ever had.

Sei looked like he was calming down, nodding lightly. The corners of his eyes were red, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Okay. White. What about.. Some people aren't white?"

"Yeah, some people have darker skin, that's normal." Aoba promised, reaching over and running a thumb under both of Sei's eyes.

"What else is normal?" Sei asked shakily, more tears leaking from his damaged eyes.

"Black. Like your hat." Aoba touched his head. "Like your hair, and your eyes where they aren't white. Black is normal."

"Black and white." Sei repeated softly. "I always knew something was wrong... I just... Thought it was a kid thing, like figuring out time, and that I would get the hang of it soon enough." More tears spilled down his cheeks as he started to sob, small shoulders shaking.

Aoba got out of the car, walking around the front and opening the passenger door. He pulled Sei into his arms as he sat down, shutting the door and hugging him tightly. The teenager wrapped his arms back around Aoba and hugged him, shaking slightly as he cried onto Aoba's shoulder.

"It's okay." Aoba murmured, running his hands through Sei's silky hair. He held him as tight as he could, like somehow he could fix this. He wished with all his heart he could.

"Please don't send me back to the group home because I'm broken."

The words sent an icy spike through Aoba's heart and he pulled back, shaking his head. "No. I'd never do that, Sei. I would keep you even if you couldn't see, period." He ran his thumbs under Sei's eyes again. "You're too much to loose and I would never, ever give you up. No matter what. Alright?"

"Alright."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're curious about Tritanopia then here are some links you can check out: http://www.color-blindness.com/wp-content/images/tritanopia-color-spectrum.jpg http://www.hinsdale86.org/staff/kgabric/Disease14/Tritanopia/index_files/image001.jpg http://www.colourblindawareness.org/wp-content/themes/outreach/images/slider/whatIs/pencils_t.jpg http://www.beercolor.com/color_challenged_per_files/image013.jpg  
> http://www.stonesc.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/cvd-examples-2.png


	3. Azure

Aoba drove Sei right home after they were both calmer at the teen's request. Once they were in the apartment and picking their way between taped up boxes, Sei muttered that he was going to have a nap. 

"That's alright." Aoba said softly, watching the teen disappear down the hall. He made his way to his desk, pushing aside a box for his computer. He hadn't gotten around to packing it away yet. Collapsing on the swivelly chair, Aoba reached up and tapped the monitor as he rubbed his head.

_It was a few months ago, they were baking a cake for Koujaku's birthday... As if the baker hadn't had enough cake already._

_"Sei, quick, can you pass me the yellow knife? The cake is falling- Sei, quick!" Aoba shrieked through both of their laugher. He grabbed the knife Sei passed him to hold the iced cake up, noticing instantly that it wasn't what he waned. "This is white, silly." He chuckled, glancing at Sei. It held the cake up just fine but the yellow one had a broader blade and would have been much easier to use._

_"Right. I panicked." Sei laughed lightly, but looked like he felt bad about it._

_Aoba reached over and smeared icing over the teen's cheek, making him laugh and dip his fingers in icing to slap onto Aoba's face. Everything was fine. Aoba hadn't looked too deeply into it._

Aoba rocked forward, the wheels on the chair bringing him closer to the desk as he settled his forearms on it and started typing. 

\---

About an hour later Sei emerged from his room, looking sleepy as he trudged over to Aoba. Aoba had printed out a few pictures, and had a sheet of paper with neat writing on it. "What are you doing?" Sei asked, opening a cupboard in the kitchen and pulling out a pop tart.

"Research." Aoba replied, deciding there was no reason to lie about it to Sei. "I'm finding out which colours you see differently."

"You mean which colours I see wrong." Sei walked over, plunking down next to Aoba. "And according to the internet." He unwrapped the pastry he'd gotten, nibbling on the corner fondly.

"It's which colours you see differently." Aoba insisted. Through his research he'd deducted that Sei could see anywhere from the lightest shade of pink, back to red and blue and the darkest shade of navy. And black and white. What Sei couldn't see was Green. Real, deep green was a dull blue to him. He couldn't see any shades of yellow or brown - all looked pink or red. Orange was also not included, along with orange-red. This was, of course, exactly what the doctor had told Aoba but now it made more sense. 

"So what have you found out?" Sei asked, mildly curious.

"That you see a very different world" He explained. "It's all just red and blue. With the help of black and white."

"So there are more colours I cant see?"

"Yeah, tons more."

"Which ones?" He asked curiously.

"Yellow, orange, brown, light purple, and green." Aoba said, reading it from his list.

"What's yellow?" Sei asked with a frown.

"Hmm... The sun."

"The sun is just white." Sei shook his head. "It's just normal white. Around the edges it's red, like it's covering something that's bigger and red, but the same shape no matter which way you look."

"White and red." Aoba nodded, a little confused by everything he'd said. "How about grass?"

"Grass is dark blue."

"It's actually green. Look, so are these sticky notes." Aoba pushed over a wad of the small sticky sheets that was lime green.

Sei touched the notes, frowning like he was trying to magically will them to look green. He looked up, frustrated. "But this looks just like blue. How do I know when I'm seeing it wrong? And like how do I know my blue is actually the same as your blue?"

"It's the same, I promise." Aoba kissed his head. "Just not on everything." He looked at the corner of his screen before back at Sei. "It's almost five. How about I run out and get dinner? You can stay here if you want."

"Okay."

"Good. Stop eating that." Aoba snatched the pop tart from Sei, taking a bite for himself as Sei protested and tried to grab it. "What do you want for dinner?" He asked, holding the teen at arm's length as he took another bite.

"I don't know. Um... Sushi, from that place down the road from the theatre. But give that back!"

"Okay. I'll be right back. And, no."

\---

Aoba stopped by the pharmacy before going to the sushi place, giving his order from the doctor. The pharmacist was young and took only a few seconds to find Sei's prescription after checking Aoba's ID. "Man, this stuff is pretty weird. Make sure you don't give your kid any dairy, whenever I give this out and people have it they end up throwing up for hours. Just raw stuff like milk and whip cream, that's bad. Cake and stuff is fine."

Aoba took the pills with a hint of annoyance. "Why didn't the doctor tell me that? Shouldn't he know this?"

The pharmacist shrugged, "he just doesn't care that much, I think. Anyway, two pills twice a day with water."

"Out of curiosity, how many times have you given this stuff out?"

"Just a few times. Why, what do you need it for?"

"My brother is colorblind. The doctor's hoping this can help fix a bit of it."

"Oh, that really weird super rare one, huh?"

"Tritanopia."

"Yeah, that's the one. I've only had to give it out once before for that same reason."

"Wait, you met another person from here with Tritanopia?" Aoba asked in surprise.

"Yeah. Pretty freaky, huh?"

"Yeah." Aoba frowned, tucking the pills into his pocket. "Thank you." He told him with a nod before leaving.

\---

"I went and got you some pills that might help. Sei."

Sei looked up, his mouth full of sushi as he gave an acknowledging hum.

"Listen to me. I need you to go dairy-free. No milk and cookies. You can still have cookies, just no milk, okay?"

"Why not?"

"Because if you do you'll be throwing up for the next few days, okay? These pills do that."

"'Kay. So what do I do, just take them until I start seeing green?" Sei poked at his sushi before snatching it up with his chopsticks.

"No, just take two with breakfast and two with dinner. Make sure you swallow them, don't chew. Understand?"

Sei nodded lightly, taking the bottle from the counter.

"No more, no less, no dairy."

Sei rolled his eyes, "okay, I get it. What about ice cream?"

Aoba shook his head, "no ice cream. But we can get some fruit popsicles, those are fine."

"Okay..." Sei sighed, unscrewing the bottle and picking out two of the tiny blue pills. "That sucks."

"Yeah." Aoba sighed, "I have to go to work tomorrow but I'll be back at lunch and off at four. I have Sunday off but that's the day we're moving. Koujaku offered to help so that's good, right?"

"Yeah." Sei nodded, swallowing the pills with a gulp of water and then a few more sips.

\---

Aoba and Sei spent the rest of the night watching a movie together, cuddled up on the couch. Aoba was just getting used to the idea of Sei seeing everything differently. He'd memorized his colour sheet quickly, and as he watched he translated it in his mind. _That tree looks blue. That park bench is black and red. That girl's dress is dark purple._ When the movie was over Sei was out cold and Aoba carried him to his bed, tucking him in before going back to his own room. He changed into his pyjamas and was also out cold within the hour.

The next morning Aoba made Sei breakfast and left it for him on his nightstand. His work started later on Saturdays but it was still pretty early. He hated that he had to leave him after just giving him the strange pills.

He found the time to call a few hours later between appointments and made sure Sei was doing good. "So how are you feeling?"

_"Um... Five."_

"Hmm. Well did you have breakfast?"

_"Yeah."_

"Well just relax then, I guess. Call me if you start getting weird side effects. I'll be home at twelve fifteen, but for now I have to go."

_"Kay. Bye."_

"Bye." 

"How is he?" Koujaku sighed next to Aoba as they sat at his desk.

"He's alright. Drugged up though, and probably going to be for a while." Aoba covered his face with his hands. "I wish I didn't have to give him pills, he's so young."

"You've got no choice, if you want to help him see properly."

"It wont even do that, apparently. It'll just help him distinguish the colours better, so he can drive one day, or be an electrician if he wants."

"That sucks." Koujaku frowned.

"Yeah. It does suck." Aoba agreed. "I wish he didn't have this. There's already so much he has to deal with."

Koujaku nodded lightly, gazing at Aoba.

"Why are you staring at me?" Aoba asked him. "Is it because I'm the only one here who has cake? Do you want some?" He pushed his plate to Koujaku.

"No, its okay." He assured, smiling and standing up. "I should get back to the bakery, and you to your appointment."

"Yeah. I'll stop by to get some more cake before I go back to Sei."

\---

Aoba visited Sei during lunch and brought him some of Koujaku's double chocolate ganache cake, which Sei was addicted to. He left again after, working hard in the kitchen with Koujaku until four and he closed the shop down. He'd put in the order to Noiz for Clear's roses and baby's breath and left to go back home, discovering Sei fast asleep.

Aoba sighed, wishing the pills weren't that strong. He desperately hoped they helped him as he carried Sei to his bed again.

The next day Koujaku was around early to help with moving their things. He helped Aoba pull Sei out of the bed and carry boxes downstairs to Koujaku's truck. After many trips up and down stairs, Aoba and Sei were fully moved out. Aoba browsed through the apartment one last time, his first apartment that had carried him through a year of collage and culinary school. He would miss it, but he was eager for more space and a backyard, as well as falling asleep to the sound of the wind or the rain instead of the highway.

As they drove there Koujaku chattered about how great living a bit away from the city was. He didn't have a partner or any siblings to take care of, and had managed to get his own place much before Aoba. He lived just a short walk from their new house, which was very convenient for them in case anything happened.

"So how's your eye thing?" Koujaku asked, pulling Aoba out of his excitement and glaring at Koujaku with his eyebrows raised. You didn't just _ask_ a person about their colour blindness. Aoba thought Koujaku was more pensive than that, and now he was panicking. What if Sei hadn't wanted anyone to know? What if he hated Aoba more now?

But much to Aoba's silent relief, Sei was completely unfazed. "It's good."

And that was that. That was the entire conversation.

\---

Compared to Aoba's apartment, their small house was gigantic. Downstairs there was a kitchen, a living room, an entertainment room, and a bathroom. Upstairs there were three rooms, and another bathroom. The walls were white and plain, and the floors were hardwood, upstairs soft carpet. It was all clean and bare, but Aoba was already loving it here. He could see this as a family home, one day... He'd have younger kids than Sei running around here.

"We're not wearing our shoes inside." Aoba decided. "Ever. Good thing we all took them off at the door."

Sei was gazing out the window in the living room to their small, grassy backyard with a wood deck and a tiny beat up trampoline. It was small outside, but this was probably Sei's first time living in a big, empty house where he knew he'd always be able to come back to.

"Maybe in a few years we can get a hot tub for the deck there." Aoba joked over his shoulder.

"That would be so cool!" Sei exclaimed, turning to look at Aoba.

"No way, kid. It'll be more than a few years. I just finished school, and that means loans are coming back. On top of that I have to pay off this damn house. And then there's you, and you're pretty expensive." Aoba teasingly tapped Sei's nose. "And if you're going to collage," he said sweetly, "i'm even more screwed."

"We should save up for a hot tub." Sei was still smiling.

Aoba laughed and ruffled Sei's hair, turning back to inspect the kitchen. "Sure, I'll get on that. But that means no puppy!"

"You were actually thinking about the puppy?!"

"Nope." 

Aoba headed back outside once he heard Koujaku start to unload the boxes and carry them inside, feeling bad about not helping. It took them another hour to unload it all and carry it inside, putting the boxes on the steps or in the living room. Aoba thanked Koujaku sincerely, and the baker was gone, driving away in his truck before Aoba turned to Sei. "Right. Time to unpack."

Sei frowned, "why cant we do this tomorrow, exactly?"

"Because! Unpack or no puppy!"

"Puppy?" Sei jerked up with a smile, but Aoba just smirked back and started carrying boxes up the stairs.

\---

It was dinnertime when Aoba finally collapsed the last box that had been holding kitchen supplies. Aoba had done this part alone because he was very picky about what went where in terms of cooking and food-related things. Getting adjusted to the bigger kitchen would be a task Aoba gladly took on, but decided takeout pizza was fine for just tonight. He was just about to call when his phone's screen lit up with a call from someone else. Aoba sighed and took it, pressing the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

 _"Aoba."_ It was Clear, Aoba could tell by the nervous laugh that followed. _"Guess what?"_

Aoba raised an eyebrow, smiling in surprise. Clear hadn't called him before. "What is it?"

_"Go to your kitchen window."_

Aoba frowned and walked through the house to his kitchen in socked feet. He drew aside the curtain and almost laughed, because across from the low gate separating property there was another window, and behind it was Clear with his own curtains pulled back, laughing.


	4. Mazarine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As if moving in next to Clear wasn't a big enough coincidence, just you guys wait.

_"Are you stalking me, Aoba?"_

"I swear, this is purely coincidence." Aoba said, an apologetic expression on his face as he gazed at Clear in his house. The other man was chuckling into the phone.

_"This is really weird, you're not wearing fancy wedding planner clothes."_

Aoba looked down, he was wearing a simple blue t-shirt with a black hoodie over, his blue hair falling freely over his shoulders. "I know. It must be strange for you. It's strange for me too. This has never happened to me before."

Clear shook his head, phone still against his head as he grinned. _"Would you like to come over for dinner? I have extra food because Mink left for a meeting before eating and it would just be a waste."_

Aoba frowned, "I don't know, I think our relationship is supposed to be strictly professional."

Clear scoffed, shaking his head. _"we're neighbours now!"_

Aoba bit his lip, knowing he should say no. He was starting to really want to say yes, and that was freaking him out just a little. He wanted to go to get to know Clear better, to demand why Mink wasn't spending time with him and steal it all for himself. But just as he opened his mouth to suggest not, Sei ducked under his arm to peer curiously out the window.

"Clear!" Sei said happily. "What are you doing in there?"

Clear smiled, _"Hello, Sei."_

"Clear lives in that house." Aoba chuckled. "We accidentally moved in next to him."

 _"Come over for dinner!"_ Clear pouted. _"Please?"_

"For dinner?" Sei heard from the phone. "Yeah! Lets go, Aoba, please?"

Aoba huffed, caving in. "Fine... Should we just come over now then?"

Clear smiled widely, _"the door's open."_ He pulled the phone down and hit the end call button, grinning at Aoba before closing his curtain.

Aoba sighed heavily before smiling down at Sei. "Are you sure you want to go?"

"Yeah. Of course." He insisted. "I'm not tired or anything."

"Fine." Aoba sighed, walking across the hall to the stairs. He bounded up them quickly, heading to his room and digging around through the boxes. He pulled out a pair of jeans and quickly changed out of his sweat pants and into them before fixing his hair lightly. He didn't want to look like he had just woken up to go to Clear's place. Once he was satisfied he walked back downstairs, "lets go, brat!" He called as he slipped his sneakers on.

Sei rolled his eyes and pulled on his usual white boots, closing the door behind them as he followed Aoba across their grassy lawns. Normally Aoba was against crossing people's gardens, but Clear's grass looked healthy and could easily recover a weak trampling. He walked up onto their white deck, hesitating before shyly reaching down and letting himself in. Clear had told him to, but he still felt uncomfortable. "Clear?" He called lightly, the smell of food cooking meeting him as he pulled his shoes off.

Clear appeared then in jeans that hugged his legs nicely, as well as a long sleeved red shirt that made his pink eyes stand out. He was smiling, and in his arms was a large silver furred cat. "Hey, guys."

"Cat!" Sei said enthusiastically, reaching up and petting the ball of fur in Clear's arms.

"Here, do you want to hold her?" Clear asked, holding her out to him and pointing out how to best hold a cat. When he was satisfied with how Sei was holding her he pulled back, looking at Aoba. "I'm glad you came."

"Sure. Is there anything I can help with?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, if you want to." Clear smiled, breezing away through the living room. "Come on."

Aoba followed after the slightly taller man, gazing at his house as they passed through the room. It was decorated very tastefully, with white furniture and blue and red pillows. They passed by a silver framed picture Clear and a taller, handsome man with a stern face. Aoba didn't get a very good look, but he assumed that was Mink. "Clear, where do you work?" He asked curiously as he followed him into the kitchen.

"I'm a high school councillor." Clear said as he stopped in front of the stove, stirring something that smelled amazing.

"Really?" Aoba asked in surprise. "But you're so young, dosent that..."

"Need a full education?" Clear provided with a smile. "Yes, it does. I got into collage when I was fifteen."

"Wow, really? How did you do that?" Aoba asked, leaning against the counter and watching as Clear stirred the pot. He was adding a few pours of white whine to whatever was in there.

"Homeschooling. As soon as I hit high school, I could go through the classes as fast as I could. I finished all three years in just a few months, and was accepted into collage right after. I also took a lot of the collage courses from home."

"Wow." Aoba repeated, smiling as he watched him. "So you're very smart."

A slight blush rose to Clear's cheeks as he shook his head. "I'm just a fast learner."

"Fast learners are very smart." Aoba chuckled. "Why were you homeschooled anyway?"

"Uh, well I was picked on a lot in middle school because I'm colour blind." Clear sighed.

"You're colorblind?" Aoba asked, surprised. "That's- wow. Is it protanopic or deuteranopic?"

Clear looked surprised and even a bit impressed that Aoba seemed to know what he was talking about. He tucked some of his soft white hair behind an ear, "actually, my kind is very rare. It's tritanopic."

Aoba jaw dropped, "no way. You have Tritanopia?"

"I do." Clear said slowly, a nervous smile on his face. "Why are you acting so strangely?"

"I just found out on Friday that Sei has Tritanopia."

"Wow." Clear's eyes widened and he fell silent for a few seconds. "That's- it's incredibly rare."

"I know."

"Are you sure Sei has it?"

"Very sure, but... How come I haven't noticed you having it?"

"My eyes were adjusted a while back. I cant exactly see normally, but it's better than it was before." Clear explained. "It took a few years, but it got easier."

"How did that happen?" Aoba asked, desperate for Sei to have help and live a successful life like Clear's.

"I tried this medicine. It had bad side effects and I was a little allergic to it, but over time I started to see better. Greens are different, and I can make out a little orange. Blue is also more normal-looking."

"Oh, thank god. Sei's on it now. I hope it works for him as well."

"Me too... Poor kid." Clear sighed softly, looking out at the living room where Sei was stroking Clear's cat.

"I think it's amazing that even though you're colorblind you finished high school so fast and then collage." Aoba said to Clear, smiling.

"Thanks." Clear smiled, looking back to his pot. "It was mostly because of my mom. She kept me going, she taught me almost everything she knew."

"Including that?" Aoba asked curiously, pointing to the pot.

"Goulash? Yeah." He nodded with a smile. "It's her recipe. I hope you like it."

"It smells amazing. I've never had it but I think I'm going to love it."

"What are you guys talking about?" Sei called from the living room.

"Can I tell him, about...?" Aoba asked politely.

"Oh, yeah." Clear nodded, pulling out three dark blue bowls from the cupboard.

"Clear also has Tritanopia." Aoba told him with a smile.

"Wow, that's pretty freaky... Isn't it supposed to be like really rare?" Sei asked with a frown.

"Yeah, it is. What a coincidence, huh?" Clear chuckled, starting to portion out little egg noodles into the bowls. "I'll tell you a sneaky secret, Sei. Everything you see right now is real."

"What do you mean?" Sei asked with a frown.

"Well, everything in this house is colour coded for tritanopic vision." Clear shrugged. "The walls, the furniture, the pillows, eating stuff, fake plants, the sheets and blankets upstairs, bathrooms, even my cat. Well, everything except for our clothing."

"I never noticed until now." Aoba smiled as he glanced around, noticing Sei do the same. "But why?"

"Well, my eyes are fixed but sometimes I still get colours wrong and here, its nice to know that I don't have to think as much. It makes me feel relaxed, and this is my home... I should be relaxed, you know? I made sure Mink knew about the colour palette and that anything violating it is going to be sent out!"

"That's really cool, Clear." Sei smiled as he stroked his cat. "Now I don't have to be worried your name is actually yellow and not marshmallow!" He cooed to it.

"Actually, the cat's name is Yura." Clear frowned.

"Does Mink know you're colour blind?" Aoba asked curiously.

"Uh, of course he does." Clear laughed. "It's kind of hard to keep secret." He passed a bowl to Aoba, who took it and followed after Clear.

"This smells amazing." Aoba admitted, gazing down at the bed of noodles covered in a light brown sauce with chunks of beef here and there.

Clear sat down at the table and put a bowl to the chair closest to Sei, who hurried over covered in cat hair. "Thanks."

Aoba dug into the food, he was actually starving from his day of moving and no lunch. The noodles were cooked perfectly, the sauce tangy and mustard-like, and the beef tender and delicious. It was a perfect meal and he finished his bowl in under ten minutes.

"Wow, you two really are hungry." Clear laughed, still working on his. "Can I get you some more?"

"Yes, please." Aoba smiled sheepishly, letting his hands drop in his lap as Clear took his bowl.

"Could I have a glass of water please?" Sei added. "I almost forgot I need to take my pills."

"Sure."

\---

Clear poured Aoba and himself glasses of wine after dinner. Aoba had been hesitant at first but then he agreed to just one glass before going home because Sei had school tomorrow. 

"Ugh, crap, and I didn't figure out the bus schedule yet." Aoba set his glass of amber liquid down, rubbing his face. "I'll have to do that tonight."

"Or, if you'd like, I can drive Sei tomorrow morning." Clear suggested, taking a sip of his wine.

"Oh, no, that would be too much-"

"Aoba, let me be friends with you." Clear chuckled. "We're neighbours, and I'm going that way anyway, and I'm sure Sei would hate to go on the bus anyway."

Sei was playing with the cat again and nodded eagerly. "Can Clear drive me, please?"

Aoba caved in again. "Fine, but only tomorrow!" He looked at Clear with a soft sigh, "thank you."

Clear chuckled, "it's no problem." He lowered his voice slightly, "you should drive him more often, I hear a lot of bullying happens on the busses in town." 

"You think? Maybe I will." Aoba sighed. "I'll try, things have been so crazy with work lately and Noiz is breathing down my neck with his deadlines, and I'm breathing right back down on his." 

"Yeah, you're basically running two businesses, huh? It seems like a really complex job." Clear said softly. 

"It really is. And whenever I'm not taking calls or scheduling, I help Koujaku out in the kitchen." Aoba smiled, taking a sip of his wine. It was bitter and sweet at the same time, an odd but addictive mix. "That's nice. We joke around but make some really good cake." 

"You and Koujaku seem very close. Are you two together?" 

"Oh! No!" Aoba laughed, covering his mouth and swallowing. His eyes met Clear's before he shook his head. "No, of course not. Koujaku's my best friend." 

Clear laughed, "he hand feeds you!"

"Oh, god, I mentioned that at the Oval tower, didn't I?" Aoba laughed. "He does, but it's purely platonic, I swear." 

"Does he know that?" 

Aoba stopped short, looking at Clear with wide eyes. "I- what does that mean?" 

"I don't know." Clear smiled, tilting his head and shrugging in an odd way. "Just watch out." He murmured, pouring them a little more wine. He set the bottle down and pulled his arm back, knocking it slightly. Aoba reached out and steadied it at the same time as Clear, their hands brushing and sending a shiver down his arm he worked to supress. The simple cold skin contact was all it took for Aoba to get thrown off... Maybe it was time to go home. The sound of gravel grinding under large tires sounded outside, headlights flashing by in the darkness. A car was pulling into Clear's driveway, as if on cue.

"That's Mink." Clear said with a small smile. "So you guys should probably head on back. He'll probably be tired."

"Alright." Aoba took another sip of wine, "thank you very much for dinner."

"It was fun, you should come by again sometime." Clear smiled.

"Maybe." Aoba said, heading to the door as Sei followed after him. The door opened in front of him by a very tall, broad shouldered man. His skin was the colour of milky coffee, his eyes dark brown and fixed on Aoba. He instantly figured he should introduce himself and floundered for something to say. "Hi, I'm your new neighbour." He announced lamely.

"Aoba and I met through work and so I invited him and his brother over for dinner. They just moved in next door." Clear provided, walking over and fixing Mink with his soft magenta eyes.

"Good to meet you." Mink nodded respectfully, walking past Aoba and dropping a kiss on Clear's head before walking straight upstairs.

Clear smiled slightly, "he's a little shy."

"I can tell." Aoba chuckled softly, hand on the door. "I'll see you later, Clear."

"Bye, Clear." Sei added before walking out the door after Aoba.

\---

The next day after school and work, Aoba and Sei played rock paper scissors over takeout for who got to choose the colour of the upstairs guest room. They were both laying on the carpet outside their rooms, playing cards on the ground next to their boxes of meat nuggets covered in tangy sauce. Orange chicken was a weakness they both shared. Sei wanted the room to be baby blue and Aoba wanted it lemon yellow.

"This is dumb! I'm not helping you paint a white room in a colour that looks white to me." Sei said, holding his hand in a fist against Aoba's.

"Loose the game and you'll have to, kid." Aoba smirked, pulling his hand back and starting the game. 

Sei did end up winning and so after dinner Aoba went out for light blue paint, the teen tagging along through the hardware store. They painted the next few days after school and worked to cover the room and didn't see Mink or Clear. Aoba was waiting at work for Clear's tablecloth and napkins to come in to start talking more, and for some reason they were being held up. The days moved along and the weather got colder, Christmas was just a few weeks away. Aoba started to buy cute ornaments for their tree which they didn't have yet.


	5. Tilleul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been struggling to get this chapter out for some reason, not very much happens and I feel like it might be a little dull for you all BUT HAVE NO FEAR the next chapter I plan on being very exiting and, dare I say, *voice drops to a whisper* scandalous.

It was almost two weeks later when Clear's décor came in, which was all there and beautiful so Aoba scheduled an appointment for the next day after. Seeing the white-haired man again sent a nervous pang through his chest. It felt like anxiety, but warmer... And less bad. He greeted Clear happily and brought him back to the storage room to show him what had come in. It was really pretty, but Aoba felt bad because half of it was orange, a colour that wasn't quite right in Clear's eyes.

"We could change it to blue if you want. It would match the Oval tower more anyway..."

"No, don't, this is really nice, Aoba. I really like it, and you told me it was beautiful too. What is there to do next?"

"Well we have to go to the tower to sort out food and the reception, as well as exact timing. We didn't do the ceremony planning either, we should get that figured out."

"That sounds good."

"Alright! Let's go." Aoba said, grabbing his coat and heading outside. "By the way, I saw your Christmas lights. They looked very nice."

"Oh, thanks. I noticed you guys don't have a Christmas tree yet, what's up with that?"

Aoba smiled as he unlocked his car, raising an eyebrow at Clear. "Are you spying on me?"

Clear gasped, pretending to be offended. "I'm an engaged man, Aoba! How dare you accuse me of such an act?"

Aoba laughed, shutting the door and starting his car. "We're getting a tree soon, don't worry." He'd noticed lately that although Clear was playful, the wedding planning was getting him down. The laughing light in his eyes had dimmed and he was starting to act more serious when it came to the wedding. Aoba blamed it on his sadness for Mink leaving soon, but he wasn't too sure. The wedding was in a week... Clear was already acting different, despite getting more comfortable around Aoba.

"We're here." Aoba declared a few minutes later, stopping the car and cutting the ignition as he opened his door. Clear stepped out on the other side and they both walked into the hotel together, eager to get out of the cold. For Christmas the hotel had set up a gigantic tree in the lobby, with red and gold baubles and ribbons covering it. It was very beautiful, but Aoba noticed it really didn't go with the icy colours of the hotel.

"It's nice and festive." Clear commented, gazing around.

"Yeah. So what do you want to do first?" Aoba asked, pulling his blue scarf away from his neck to loosen it as he pulled out his clipboard. "Reception, ceremony, or food? We should do timing as well... I'll put that with the reception."

"Hmm, food." Clear decided. 

"Okay, that's down this way I'm pretty sure. I came here a few times without you to figure some things out." Aoba said, heading down the hallway. Clear followed close by him and they fell silent, walking through the big hallway. After a white Aoba broke the silence, "Clear... As your neighbour, I have noticed you look a little... Sad."

"Sad?" Clear frowned at him.

"Yeah, like... Gloomy, I guess? I don't know. It seems like there's something wrong. Is there?"

"Yeah." Clear said after a few seconds, pushing the tail of his yellow scarf over his shoulder. "It's Mink. He's just so... Weird. He's not exited for the wedding at all."

"Are you?"

Clear looked at Aoba again, frowning as he thought about it. "I guess... I don't think so, not really."

"Normally people are jumping out of their skin to get married." Aoba said quietly.

"I don't know why I'm not exited for the wedding. It's strange. I'm just... Not. Lately I've been more exited about decorating our tree than deciding who sits next to who. Oh, I finished that by the way. The seating plan."

"Good." Aoba nodded, but wanted to focus more on the first part. "Do you not love Mink?"

"Of course I love Mink. He's very good to me. He lets me live in his house, and he takes care of me if I get sick... It's just strange sometimes. Like we're friends, and not actually engaged." Clear said quietly.

"How long have you two been together?"

"A few months."

"After a few months you said yes to a proposal?" Aoba exclaimed.

"It was actually not like that." Clear sighed. "We were working well together. Mink was sweet, and I was happy to have found someone who likes me a lot. When he realized he was going to leave after new year's he suggested we get married. And... I didn't know what to say. So I said yes."

"So it wasn't even a real proposal?" Aoba asked quietly. 

"Not really." Clear said quietly. 

Aoba stopped walking a few seconds later, making Clear stop as well and turn questioningly. "Clear, your proposal may not have been too special... And you might not be exited... But I promise to make your wedding absolutely amazing. I want that for you. I want you to be happy." He admitted quietly. 

Clear looked slightly surprised by the words. "Thank you, Aoba." 

"No problem. Tell me if there's anything I can do to help you." 

"I will." Clear gave him a small, genuine smile, and Aoba's heart jumped. 

\---

"Sei, are you ready?"

"Sei?"

_"Sei!"_

"I'm coming! I called that three times!"

"Come faster!"

"...That's what she said."

"Teenagers are gross!"

Aoba was pulling his boots on by the door, his jacket already zipped up and earmuffs around his neck. It was so cold today he could see his breaths outside in the air like fog. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail which he tucked under his hat. "Sei! Oh- there you are. C'mon, lets go. We're going to be late."

Sei had a black coat on with his fedora, with mittens on instead of his usual gloves. He reached for the door, only to be stopped by Aoba with a frown.

"Why are you wearing a fedora? Your ears are going to freeze." He frowned. 

"I'll be fine."

"No, go get a wool hat."

"Ao _ba!_ "

"We're not leaving unless you grab it. You don't even have to wear it, just leave your fedora here."

"What do you have against fedoras?" Sei spat, stalking down the hallway.

Aoba rubbed his face, the soft mittens on his hands comforting. "I'm raising a hipster. Wonderful."

"Is this better?" Sei was holding a hat up. "It's white, right?"

"Yeah, c'mon lets go!" Aoba yanked open the door, heading outside and through the cold weather to his car. Once they were both safely inside it, Sei pulled on his wool hat. 

"So how's Clear's wedding?"

"What do you mean? You don't care about weddings." Aoba frowned as he slowly backed out of their driveway.

"But I care about Clear and I want to know how he's doing."

"Clear's good. He's started to get weird though." He admitted. "A little gloomy."

"Maybe he dosent want to get married to Mink."

"That's silly, Sei. If he didn't want to marry Mink, he wouldn't." Aoba said firmly, focusing on the road.

Sei chuckled softly from the passenger seat. "Alright." 

The conversation lulled, Aoba focusing on the wet roads and Sei fidgeting with his gloves. "Okay, I'm pretty sure this appointment is mostly for you, to see how the pills are doing." Aoba said as they stopped at the eye clinic. "But I'm coming anyway." 

"Okay." Sei said, unclipping his seatbelt as he got out of the car. He didn't seem upset in the least bit about the fedora thing anymore. 

"Hey, it's snowing!" Aoba exclaimed as he stood up, holding his navy blue glove out. There were tiny white specks drifting down from the sky. As he looked up he could see millions of the tiny white puffs drifting through the air.

"The weather forecast didn't say it would!" Sei laughed, sticking his tongue out and tipping his head out.

"Come on, Sei, you're not going to catch any snowflakes like that. Your breath will melt them before they touch your tongue."

"Wow, you fun spoiler. Next time I have an appointment I'm leaving without you." Sei said, trudging after Aoba into the clinic.

"Uh-huh. You'll need a car, a licence, and my appointment papers first." Aoba rolled his eyes, heading straight to the front desk with a smile. "Hi there, I have an appointment for Sei. It's at six o clock. We may be a bit late."

"That's alright. Come with me please."

Aoba placed a hand between Sei's shoulder blades, gently pushing him after the nurse as he followed. He knew Sei was nervous about all sorts of doctor-like things, and didn't want him to be. They were just trying to help him, but in Sei's mind that meant bad news.

"Wait inside here." The woman said, opening a door to a small room for them. The room had two chairs and all sorts of eye charts, with cones and sphere things and whatnot. She closed the door behind them and Aoba walked over to sit down, pulling his scarf off his neck with a sigh.

"Aoba."

"Yeah?"

Sei sat down next to him, pulling his hat off and dropping it in his lap as he tugged his gloves off. "What if the pills aren't working on me?"

"Then we'll just knock your head into a wall until they start working."

Sei grimaced, "that's not funny."

Aoba sighed, running his hands through Sei's inky black hair. "I know. I'm sorry. If they don't work... Then we'll just have to try something different."

"My friend said that sometimes they put needles in your eyes to fix it."

Aoba frowned, "that is not true! The cones in your eyes are far too small, they wont do that. They'll probably just give you incredibly expensive contact lenses, or a different kind of medication. Idiot kid."

"Okay. He's not actually my friend anyway, just a guy I know."

"Yeah? Do you like him?"

"Yeah, Mizuki's cool. He has lots of friends but sometimes he hangs out with me on the stairs."

"That's nice of him." Aoba smiled, still working his fingers through Sei's hair. He was glad Sei had found a possible friend, and a popular one at that. If they kept being friends, maybe it would raise Sei's confidence.

The doctor opened the door with a smile before Sei could respond, walking in with a smile. "Sei? Lets get started with this test."

Aoba squeezed Sei's hand, before letting go so Sei could hop up onto the chair to talk with the doctor. While the appointment was going Aoba picked up a magazine, pretending to read it but glancing over the top every now and then. He kept tabs on Sei, worrying for the kid, but he seemed relaxed for once and was talking animatedly with the doctor. They talked and the doctor examined his eyes and showed him charts for a good hour before he was finally pulling back and announcing they were done.

Aoba sat up with a smile, "how soon will we get the results?"

"It'll take a few days." The doctor said, setting his clipboard down. "But I can tell you now they're going to be good results."

A knot Aoba didn't know was in his chest loosened, making it easier to breathe all of a sudden. "Really?"

"Yes. The medicine is making very small but meaningful changes. Your son will get better, if he keeps taking it."

Aoba rubbed his face with his hands, "you're a doctor, you should know its impossible for him to be my kid! I would have been eight!" He all but shouted.

"My apologies." The doctor said quickly, and Sei was laughing.

Aoba rolled his eyes with a smile. "Come on, lets go, you hipster."

\---

Sei lingered by the front desk, grabbing two of the complimentary mints with a smile from the bowl there. He walked out of the doors and passed them to Aoba, wrinkling his nose, "I don't understand how you eat those."

"They're delicious." Aoba said, popping one into his mouth.

"Eww." Sei laughed, getting into the car with Aoba and rubbing his gloved hands together.

Aoba pulled out of the parking lot, biting his lip with a small smile as he started driving.

Sei frowned after a few minutes, "hey, this isn't the way home...?"

"Yeah, I think it's time we made a detour."

"Where...?" Sei asked.

Aoba fell silent, gripping the steering wheel as they turned into a parking lot. After a few seconds Sei deduced they were in the garden store to get a Christmas tree, which they were. They took a good ten minutes to pick out their tree - did they want a tall one, or a thick one? They settled on a tree that they were both happy with, and had to stuff it into the back of Aoba's small car. On the way back their car smelled like pine needles and wood, and they were already discussing where to put it.

An hour later it was finally set up in their living room in front of a large window. Aoba and Sei carefully wrapped lights around the tree, getting all tangled up twice before working out a better system and helping each other. Once they were done with that Aoba brought out the new ornaments he'd found, along with ones Koujaku had bought them as a housewarming gift, and Grandma Tae's old ornaments. They decorated the tree together after Aoba made hot chocolate, the snow fluttering down silently outside. 

Later that evening Sei was asleep and Aoba was also about to head to bed when his phone rang quietly. He smiled slightly as he saw the number and picked up, pressing it to his ear. "Are you happy now?"

_"Very, Aoba, your tree is beautiful."_

"Thank you. So is yours, Clear." Aoba chuckled.

_"Thank you. So I called to ask if you wanted to come to my bachelor's party."_

"You have a bachelor's party? I'm not sure if I should, I'm your wedding planner." Aoba said uneasily.

 _"But you're also my neighbour and like my only friend!"_ Clear exclaimed. _"Please, come? And bring Koujaku and Noiz too!"_ Clear had met them both a few times and they got on quite well, from what Aoba saw. _"It's on Friday."_

Aoba frowned, "what a coincidence... Sei's going to a sleepover that night."

 _"Not only a coincidence, its a sign!"_ Clear exclaimed happily. _"You have to come now! I'll send you the details."_

Aoba could practically _feel_ Clear begging on the other line. After a few seconds he caved in. "Fine!"

_"Yes! Thank you! I know you wont regret it. We'll have so much fun."_


	6. Magenta

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok this chapter was pretty fun to write, and I'm exited for you guys to read it. Thank you for all the encouraging comments, you don't even know how much they mean!!!
> 
> Oh, also, there is a hidden Death note reference in this chapter. Because I am a fan of hidden references.

Aoba pulled a comb through his wet hair, pulling it over his shoulder and watching as the water droplets rolled down his chest. He carefully combed down his bangs before grabbing a towel and pulling it around his shoulders. "Sei, are you finished packing?" He called.

"Yeah, all I need is a change of clothes and stuff, right?" Came the answering yell.

"Okay, good." Aoba finished drying himself off and started pulling on clothes - simple blue jeans and a long sleeved blue shirt. He opened the door to the bathroom, squeezing his hair with the towel as he walked down the hallway to Sei's room. "Knock knock."

Sei pulled the door open after a few seconds. "Yeah?"

"Are you bringing your skirt?" Aoba asked curiously, noticing Sei was wearing it.

"No, I think I'm gonna take it off. Mizuki's friends think it's lame..."

"Lame? Does Mizuki think it's lame?" Aoba frowned.

Sei's lips tugged up into a smile. "No... He does think it makes me look girly though. And he teases me about it."

Aoba chuckled softly, walking past Sei into his room. "Come here, I have to tell you something." He sat down on Sei's bed, watching as the kid sat down next to him. "Have I ever told you how Koujaku and I met?"

"No."

"We were really young, just starting middle school, I think. Much younger than you." Aoba said. "And because of my long hair, people kept on teasing me for looking like a girl. Some of them even _thought_ I was a girl." Aoba exclaimed, watching Sei laugh. "Anyway, one day it got so bad during lunch break that I was cornered. Some boys were pulling my hair, and calling me names. Until..."

Sei knew Koujaku well enough to assume what happened next. "Koujaku kicked their asses?" He asked with a grin.

"No, Sei," Aoba laughed, "he wasn't violent. Not very violent. Sort of. But he did tell them that girls were something to be respected and cherished, not teased. The bullies backed away when he stood up for me."

"But he thought you were a girl."

"Yeah, so I told him I actually wasn't a girl and he was really surprised, but also he didn't care. He introduced himself and stuck by me for the rest of lunch." Aoba smiled, "and then the next day, he found me again. And the next, and the next..."

"And you've been best friends ever since." Sei smiled.

"Yeah." Aoba said softly, reaching out and taking Sei's hands. "What I'm trying to tell you is, your skirt is like my long hair. You have your reasons for wearing it, and might I add, it looks amazing on you. But you shouldn't be scared of what other people think, or take it off because _they_ think it's not cool. And if you find someone who thinks it's cool and stands up for you, they're someone you want to keep close."

Sei bit his lip, "so you think I should wear it?"

"Do you want to?"

"Yeah. I want to find a best friend." Sei smiled.

"Then you should." Aoba smiled. "Just make sure it stays on."

"What do you mean?"

"Are there any girls at the sleepover?" Aoba asked suspiciously.

Sei frowned at Aoba before giving him a look that basically said, _really?_

"Any... Boys...?" Aoba tried.

Sei's expression remained unfazed.

"Alright, well." Aoba stood up, letting go of his hands. "Just make sure you don't get into any trouble. Be polite. Don't do anything bad... What exactly are you guys going to do at the party?"

"Just play video games, maybe bake a pie." Sei said, picking up his small black duffel bag.

Aoba nodded, "well alright." The house rang with a chiming sound, confusing Aoba for a few seconds before he realized that must be the doorbell. He hadn't even tried out the doorbell yet. "I'll get that." He said, heading out of the room and down the stairs. Through the stained glass window he could see white and yellow, and a smile grew on his face before he realized it. He pulled the door open, stepping back. "Come on in, it's freezing out there."

Clear stepped inside as Aoba shut the door behind him. His cheeks were rosy from just the walk to Aoba's house, scarf pulled tightly around his neck. "Thank you." He was holding a binder, which he held up with thinly gloved hands. "I came to give you these, the seating plans. I forgot to bring them yesterday, I'm sorry."

"It's no problem." Aoba assured, taking the binder with a smile. "Come on, I want to show you something."

"Show me something?" Clear was unlacing his boots. "That sounds exiting." He stepped out of them, setting them by the door before following Aoba up the stairs.

Aoba led Clear upstairs to his room, opening the door and regretting he hadn't cleaned up before. His room was tidy but there was a basket of dirty laundry, which he carefully kicked into his closet before Clear came in. He brought the binder to his desk, placing it on top of another few binders full of information for Clear's wedding. He picked up a small box that was resting next to his computer, giving it to Clear.

Clear looked surprised, "is this jewelry?" He asked as he carefully took the dark blue box.

"Well, kind of." Aoba admitted, "it's an early wedding present, but just for you." As Clear opened the box, Aoba caught a faint glint of the silver necklace he'd bought. It was a simple, delicate chain, and hanging from it was a small jellyfish, tentacles raised, made with tiny blue crystals and two black ones for it's big eyes. "I just saw it and thought of you."

Clear's eyes were soft as he touched the charm. "You saw a jellyfish and thought of me?"

"Because it's small and adorable."

Clear and Aoba both flushed at the same time, Aoba mentally cursing himself for blurting it out. He should _not_ have said that. It had been the first thing to come to his mind and he was feeling the need to explain himself.

"Thank you, Aoba." Clear said after a few seconds. "It's really pretty. And I love jellyfish, actually."

"You do?" Aoba asked hopefully.

"Yeah." Clear said. "Did you know jellyfish have three hearts?"

Aoba frowned, "oh, um, really? I didn't know that... Are you sure?"

"No, I think I meant octopuses." Clear frowned as well.

Aoba laughed, glad to diffuse some of the tension as Clear smiled, pulling out the necklace from the box.

"Would you help me?" He asked, giving Aoba the necklace and turning his back to him as he pulled his scarf off.

"Sure." Aoba said softly, finding both of the ends of the chain and lowering the pendant to rest in the hollow of Clear's throat. He carefully fastened it in the back, his fingers brushing over the soft skin of his nape as he did so, "Alright." He said softly.

"Thank you." Clear turned, touching the jellyfish with a soft chuckle and gazing back at Aoba. "It was really nice of you to get this for me."

Aoba shrugged slightly, nervous with how close they were. "You're special." He murmured, gazing at Clear with a shy smile. His gaze was held for a few minutes, Clear's blush spreading, before the taller looked away.

"I should go." Clear he, stepping back and pulling his scarf back over his shoulders.

"Oh, yeah, you have to get ready for the party." Aoba said, walking past him and out of the room. He took a deep breath in the hall, like his bedroom had become very hot when Clear and him were in there. He padded down the stairs, feeling Clear behind him and stopping at the door.

"You're coming, right? With the boys?" Clear asked, buttoning up his coat with a hopeful smile.

"Yes, we're all going to be there." Aoba smiled, tucking his hands into his pockets.

Clear smiled, looking past Aoba to the living room. "Hello there, Sei."

"Hi." Sei answered, smirking. He was laying on the couch and watching them both, arms propped on the armrest with his head resting on them. Aoba instantly recognized the look on his face - it was the one Sei got whenever he was plotting something. It very rarely came around but when it did, it meant something was about to happen. 

Giving Sei a warning look, he smiled as he looked back at Clear. "I'll see you then. We might be a little late though."

"That's fine." Clear insisted as he opened the door, the frigid air washing over them.

"Hey," Sei piped up, "you guys are under mistletoe!"

Aoba glanced at Sei before looking up. Sure enough, there was a small hanging bundle of the beautiful green leaves, held together with a thin red ribbon. Aoba had no recollection of it being up there.

"Now you have to kiss." Sei said happily.

Clear looked surprised, breaking into a nervous smile. "Um..."

"Sei, Clear is engaged, we cant just kiss." Aoba exclaimed. The idea was ridiculous, of course, he would never, in a million years think of kissing Clear.

"Well... I read somewhere that if siblings are found under the mistletoe they kiss on the cheek." Clear suggested.

"Yeah, just give each other neighbourly kisses on the cheek. Platonically." Sei grinned.

Aoba shook his head, "Clear, we really don't have to-"

"Oh, it's fine, Aoba." Clear chuckled. He stepped forward, turning his head and pressing his soft lips to Aoba's cheekbone.

Aoba's face got hot again, nervous smile breaking out as he felt the simple touch. When Clear pulled back, turning his head expectantly, Aoba stepped forward and touched his shoulder as he kissed Clear's cold cheek. He felt Clear barely shiver as a gust of freezing wind blew in from the open door.

"I should go." Clear said again, chuckling nervously as he pulled back. "Um, but thank you for the necklace." He said before stepping out the door.

Aoba sighed as he shut it behind him, gazing back at Sei with a raised eyebrow. "Mistletoe? What the heck was that?"

Sei only laughed, "necklace? This I gotta hear about."

"It's nothing." Aoba fumed.

Sei gazed at Aoba for a few seconds before laughing and shaking his head. "Nah."

"Nah, what?" He frowned.

"In no universe were those cheek kisses platonic."

\---

Later Aoba watched out the window as Sei left for his first sleepover, lugging his duffel bag with him. He'd reminded him twice that if he needed to be taken home at any time Aoba would drop anything and come instantly. The waiting car's door opened and a young man with light purple hair jumped out with a smile, taking Sei's duffle bag and putting it in the car for him.

Aoba sighed quietly, watching as they both got in and the car drove away.

"Aoba, he's going to be fine." Koujaku's hand fell onto his shoulder, his taller friend's chuckle by his ear. He'd arrived a few minutes after Clear had left, eager for a tour of the house and to have dinner with them. "Don't be so worried."

"I'm not worried." He insisted with a chuckle.

"Yeah, you are." Koujaku grinned. "Come on, lets go to the party. We're already late, and we still have to pick up Noiz."

Aoba sighed, shaking his head. "You're right. Lets go, we're taking your truck, right?"

Minutes later Aoba was with Koujaku in his truck and they were driving to Noiz' house. They hadn't been there too many times and so it took them a while to find. Noiz was waiting by the gate, and slid in the back, surprisingly without complaint.

"So Clear told me that this party has free drinks and it might get a little crazy. It's kind of going to be like a bachelorette party. Drinking, dancing, partying..."

"Strippers?" Koujaku asked with genuine curiosity.

"I don't know. Maybe? Anyway, one of us has to be the Designated Driver, and be dry the whole party." Aoba said. "Because taxis are expensive and that's mostly the reason we're driving together."

To Aoba's surprise, Noiz spoke up, "I'll DD."

"Really?" Aoba asked. "No drinking?"

"No drugs?" Koujaku piped up, earning a scolding look from Aoba.

"Yeah, sure. You two have fun." Noiz nodded. "I promise, no drinking here. Or drugs."

"Alright." Aoba said happily. He'd been expecting the responsibility to fall to him, as usual. He could actually relax and have fun, maybe take a few drinks at the party. That made him glad. It didn't take them long to find the club Clear had chosen, where the party was happening.

As the three walked up, Aoba talked to the bouncer with a small smile, "we're here for the party."

"Your names?" The bouncer asked blandly, pulling out a sheet of paper.

"Aoba Seragaki, and my friends Koujaku and Noiz. We should be in one of those weird group lists." He leaned in to look over at the list, which was pulled away with a huff from the bouncer. A few seconds passed...

"Yep, you're all here. Go on in." He said with a nod.

"Alright!" Aoba said happily, walking into the room and instantly cringing from the music. The music was incredibly loud, and the room was pitch dark other than the flashing rainbow lights over the dance floor. There were about thirty people on the floor dancing and getting close, and Clear was in the middle chatting with someone.

Clear- Clear wasn't wearing his usual jeans and coat. Clear had knee high white boots on, and a lemon yellow skirt that stopped just above his knees. It was an a tiny skirt, not like the longer black ones Sei wore with leggings - Clear's legs were bare and exposed. He had a long sleeved white shirt on, and around his neck was a silvery chain. As he turned to see who had just entered the party, Aoba saw the flash of blue. It was the necklace he'd given him, and the neckline on his shirt was low to show it off along with his collar bones.

Aoba's mouth was completely dry as magenta eyes fell on him, a smile growing on Clear's face as he walked over. "Hello, boys." He called over the music. 

"Clear. You look stunning." Koujaku chuckled, crossing his arms. He was wearing a red kimono with black jeans, his hair in a ponytail and bangs falling over half of his face. He was very handsome, the kimono making his eyes stand out nicely.

"Thank you, Koujaku." Clear smiled, walking over and taking Aoba's hand before focusing on the blue haired man. He leaned in close so that he didn't have to yell over the pounding music. "You look like you could use a drink."

Aoba chuckled nervously, feeling somehow underdressed. He hadn't done anything with his hair, and was still wearing a simple blue shirt and his favourite jeans. "Yeah, that sounds good... How many have you had already?"

"Um, I dunno." Clear gave a cheery smile. "A few, but since I don't drink a lot they were really affective!" He dissolved into giggles before his expression turned serious. "Do you like my boots?"

"Yeah, you do seem to have a fondness for boots. They look great on you."

"Good!" Clear declared, pulling Aoba away from the dance floor and to a set of stairs that led to the bar. A few normal lights were on over the bar, and the music was less blaring as they left Koujaku and Noiz behind. 

"I feel like I'm underdressed." Aoba said nervously as they walked up the stairs to the bar and Clear pulled him to sit at a stool by the bar.

"You're fine! What do you want to drink?" He asked.

"I don't know. I don't really like beer and other than wine I've never really... Experimented with alcohol." He admitted.

"Okay, my sister knows her alcohol stuff and she told me to try something called the green fairy. I want that. He wants that." Clear called to the bartender.

"I'm going to need some identification." The bartender said to Aoba.

"Finally. Someone who thinks I'm not the father of a fifteen year old." Aoba shifted on his seat, pulling his wallet out and passing over his driver's licence. Once it was checked and passed back, the bartender started to make the drink. "So how long have you been here for?"

"Few hours." Clear replied, shrugging.

"Is Mink here?" Aoba asked curiously. 

"No, he's at a meeting thing..." Clear said sadly. "He's never around these days... But I don't miss him." Clear admitted, reaching over and pulling a strawberry from someone's drink and giving it to Aoba with a mischievous grin. "I'll give you this strawberry if you keep it a secret."

Aoba looked at the strawberry, laughing and popping it into his mouth. "Alright." The strawberry did not taste like a strawberry. It was sour from the drink, but Aoba didn't really mind. It tasted tingly.

Clear and Aoba chatted on the bar stools long after Aoba's drink was finished. It was strange and sugary and Aoba drank it as they chatted, not noticing how fogged over his mind slowly got. Their conversations got more and more pointless but more hilarious as Aoba worked through his drink. Clear ordered him another and they kept talking on the chairs. After a while Clear perked up, white boots snapping together.

"I love this song! We have to go dance."

"I don't know how to dance." Aoba stammered, but was pulled off his chair.

"I'll teach you." Clear insisted, taking his hand and pulling him down the stairs. Aoba focused on not tripping as he followed him down to the floor. The people were dancing on the floor, but it didn't look like Aoba's idea of dancing. Bodies were pressed together, lips against skin and swaying hips to the music. The world tipped and pitched as Aoba stopped running down stairs, and he was guided solely by Clear's hand in his.

Once they were on the floor Clear turned, pulling Aoba close and wrapping arms around his waist. The beat was fast and jumpy, Aoba registered the words 'one more time' and something like 'celebrate' over and over again. Their dancing was more like bobbing up and down at the knees and laughing as Aoba pulled arms around Clear's neck. Their breaths mingled before Clear turned around, arm sliding around to the front of Aoba's waist as he pressed his body to Aoba's back. The song had changed to something different, with a slower beat and loud vocals. Aoba felt lightheaded, feeling Clear's mouth slide down over his neck and shoulder. He stopped breathing as they moved back under his jaw, pressing to his pulse and mouthing there softly.

"Clear." Aoba said, and again louder. "Clear!"

"What?" Clear mumbled into his ear.

"I feel... Is this bad?" He asked loudly.

"Is what bad?"

"How bad I don't want you to stop?" Aoba said, louder. A wide grin was on his face.

"Yeah, that's really bad..." 

"Oh." Aoba frowned.

Clear reached up, fingering Aoba's chin and mouthing the words, _I don't care anymore._ He leaned in, his lips soft and slick against Aoba's. 

Aoba knew this was bad, deep down in his foggy mind. But he just couldn't care anymore either. He wasn't running away this time, even if this was a party to celebrate Clear getting married. Aoba wanted this, and so did Clear. He pressed back against him and eagerly kissed back, hands raising to tangle in his soft hair.


	7. Falu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you like Mink, I'm sorry.
> 
> If you like Koujaku, I'm sorry.
> 
> If you like Sei being childish, I'm sorry.
> 
> If you like Clear's head to be right, I'm sorry.
> 
> I'M SORRY OKAY I CAN'T PLEASE EVERYONE!

Aoba's head and sinuses were aching long before he opened his eyes. His temple throbbed dully, his body chilly and naked under the blanket as he finally did. The room was bright white, the floor clean and walls unfamiliar. He was... In a hotel? His eyes drifted to the nightstand where he could see a brochure. The hotel was one across from the club was, Aoba registered dully. Shifting slightly, he realized again that he was naked, and slowly sat up, groaning out as the blankets slid down his body to his waist. He felt a dull sore in all the right and wrong places, and he could feel another person's body heat. Aoba knew the feeling - this wasn't the first time he'd woken up with a good ache in his body, but it was the first time he had no clue who'd given it to him. Aoba slowly looked over, _please, not him, not him, not him-_

The body was bigger than Aoba expected, the man laying on his back with his face turning away. Aoba didn't have to see his face, or even his hair to know who it was. He recognized the black tattoo on one side of his body, and the soft pink feathery flower one on the other. They were beautiful, bringing a softness to the hard muscle of his chest. His navy blue hair was scattered over his face and shoulders. Aoba had seen him shirtless before, but not like this. Never like this.

Aoba slowly leaned down, touching one of his shoulders and pushing his soft hair away from it before gently shaking. "Koujaku."

The other man slowly sighed, brows knitting together with a soft groan before he slowly opened his eyes. Koujaku's expression softened, a hand brushing up Aoba's arm as an easy smile spread his mouth. "Hey, Aoba."

Aoba felt uneasy by the touch. "Koujaku, what happened?"

He chuckled softly, "I didn't think you would remember. It's alright, we have tons of time to catch up."

Aoba felt dread fill him. Why the hell was Koujaku so calm? "Wh-what happened?"

"Clear brought you to me after a few hours. He said you passed out while they were dancing, probably because of the heat and how much you drank. When you woke up a few minutes later, you told me you loved me and wouldn't stop kissing me."

Aoba covered his face with his hands, _fuck, shit, fucking fuck my head hurts_ "a-and then what?"

"And then..." Koujaku shrugged gently. "Well, I'd had a bit to drink too. One of Clear's friends got us a hotel room because it didn't look like you wanted to stop any time soon."

"A-and?"

"We didn't."

"What?"

"Stop."

Aoba rubbed his head, feeling his eyes watering. This was the worst day, ever, already. "We slept together."

"Yeah... But Aoba, why didn't you tell me your feelings before? I love you as well, I have for so long."

Aoba's eyes watered again. "Don't- please don't say that."

"Why not?"

"Because they're not- they're not for you."

"What?" Koujaku frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Clear." Aoba said weakly. "My feelings and 'I love you's are for Clear. I must have thought you were him, god, he got me such a weird drink."

"Wait, this was a mistake?" Koujaku asked, frowning.

Aoba felt a pang of guilt wash over him. "I-I'm sorry. I love Clear, and I thought you were him. I was so drunk, I couldn't even tell."

Koujaku's expression changed from confusion to anger. "You're in love with one of our clients, who by the way _is getting married_ in two days!?"

Aoba covered his face again, like he could hide behind his hand. "Yes. I'm so sorry."

"Oh my god." Koujaku muttered, sitting up and shaking his head. He let out a half laugh, half scoff, getting up and walking across the room to where his clothes were. He quickly pulled them on, before walking straight out the room, probably to find Noiz.

Aoba felt his eyes watering up, and he gave a soft sniff. Just like that, his best friend was gone. All because of how stupidly drunk he'd gotten last night. He humiliated himself and Koujaku, and probably even Clear. Aoba took a soft breath, trying to calm down. He reached for the phone, dialling for a taxi. 

\---

Later on back at home, Aoba was working in his room on a wedding cake plan. He felt weak with guilt over the events of last night. He hadn't called Clear or Koujaku. The sound of the door opening downstairs pulled him from his concentration, something unknotting slightly in his stomach. Sei was back, and somehow the kid always brought a smile to Aoba's face. Aoba really needed that now. He finished jotting down a few notes before getting to his feet with an enormous sigh, and padding down the hall. 

He was about to open his mouth and call his brother's name before he stopped short at the top of the stairs. 

In the foyer was Sei, but also in the foyer was the other boy named Mizuku. His maroon hair was carefully styled, his black jacket sleek, just like last night. Mizuki was holding Sei's chin with his fingers, and closed the small distance between their faces as he pressed their lips together. Sei looked stunned, eyes wide open and gloved fingers in fists of nerves. 

Aoba snapped back like a whip, knowing this was a strictly no-parent moment and pressing his back to the wall in the hallway. His heart was beating nervously, hoping Sei hadn't seen him. He registered the soft sound of a kiss ending, and the foyer was silent. 

Finaly, Sei spoke, sounding breathless. "Um, I'll see you tomorow, Mizuki." 

"Yeah. Don't be nervous, okay?" Mizuki answered. His voice was soft, like Sei's, but had a slight deeper undertone to it. "Come and talk to me. Even if my friends are there." 

"Okay." Sei said quietly. 

There was yet another soft, telltale sound of a kiss, before the door opened and they both exchanged goodbyes again. The door swung shut, and Aoba swore he could hear a pin drop. Moving carefully, he tiptoed a few steps back down the hall, before walking naturally back over the carpet and glancing into the foyer. "Oh, Sei, you're back!"

Sei whirled, glancing up at the top of the stairs. He swallowed hard, his cheeks red. "Um, yeah."

Aoba raised an eyebrow, pretending to be suspicious. "You look... Weird? You look glow-y. You look very happy. What's up with that? No happiness in my house." 

"Um..." Sei's gloved hand found it's way up to the back of his head, curling nervously in the hair there. "Did I tell you that Mizuki likes me?"

A smile spread across Aoba's face. "I knew you were gay!!"

"I never said I liked him back!"

"The way you were smooching him did!" Aoba shouted happily. 

Sei's cheeks flushed again, but he was emberassed with a huge smile. "You saw? I hate you! Did you watch?"

"I only saw a second, I'm not a wierdo so of course I didn't watch you two kiss." Aoba laughed, walking down the stairs. He wasn't prepared at all for how the teenager thew himself into Aoba's arms, hugging him hard. 

"Thank you." Sei whispered, pressing his face into Aoba's shoulder as he hugged him. 

Aoba's expression softened and he ran his fingers through the hair spilling out from under Sei's fedora. "No problem, little brother." He said softly, before grinning, "this comes at a cost though!"

"What?" He asked in suprise, pulling back. 

"Details!" Aoba exclaimed, pulling back as he headed to the living room. "Was that your first kiss?"

"No." Sei replied after a few seconds, trailing after Aoba. 

"Really?" Aoba frowned. "Who was your first?"

Sei broke out into a huge grin. "Mizuki, last night." 

"What?" Aoba exclaimed, smiling as well. "That's it, boy, tell me everything!" 

Sei sat down on a couch as he smiled, shaking his head like it may have been a dream. "Well, a few of the kids left after the video games, because not all of them could stay overnight. So there was Mizuki, me, and a girl and a boy. And they wanted to play spin the bottle."

"Ooh, I like where this is leading." Aoba laughed. 

Sei rolled his eyes, "anyway, they made me go first because of my shyness, and I landed on Mizuki, and..." He shrugged. 

"And he kissed you?" Aoba asked. 

Sei flushed slightly, rubbing his cheek. "No, I did it."

"You kissed him?" Aoba asked in suprise. 

"Yeah." Sei grinned sheepishly. 

"Wow. You really are coming out of your shell. This Mizuki guy must really be something..."

"He is. He's got the nicest eyes, and he's so smart and really popular, and his hair, Aoba, it smells like, just so amazing!"

Aoba nodded slightly, "I remember my parade of nice haired crushes- wait, how did you smell his hair? Did you guys do more than kiss?"

"No, after I pulled back and they finished the round, Mizuki landed on the other guy and he kissed him as well... But it was way shorter and with less attention." 

"Hah!" Aoba said happily.

"And we all slept in the living room on the pull out couch, but he wasn't next to me. We just slept." Sei chuckled. "Together, on the same bed."

Aoba smiled, "that is what you do at sleepovers."

"That was the best sleepover ever." Sei sighed happily. 

"Yeah? How are you feeling?" Aoba asked with a small smile. 

Sei contemplated for a few seconds. "Nine..."

"Wow, that high?" Aoba asked, impressed. 

"Yeah. It was a seven, but when he kissed me just now I had no idea that he actually likes me. So that raised it."

Aoba bit his lip nervously. "Sei, did he tell you that he likes you?"

"Oh, uh, no." Sei admitted. 

"Then he might not actually." Aoba told him gently. 

"Really?" Sei asked with a frown. "How do you know?" 

"I've had lots of experience with guys, trust me. But it dosent meant that he dosnet like you." Aoba said. "You'll just have to look for the signs tomorow at school."

"Signs?"

"Oh yeah. Signs."

\---

The next morning, Clear's wedding was a day away. Aoba had set up an appointment to meet with him to go and pick out what he was wearing. Generally the dress and tuxedo and whatnot was chosen way before the wedding day, but Clear had put it off until now. Although Aoba wasn't even sure if Clear was coming for their appointment. He would understand if Clear didn't. Koujaku had taken to not talking to him. When Aoba came into the bakery he was quiet, not talking with him at all and simply shoving a small piece of cake to him on a platter. It hurt Aoba just to see how angry he was.

Now Aoba was reclining on his seat in the lobby, absently going over a flower order when the door opened. Aoba's head snapped up, anxiety welling in his chest as he saw Clear walk in. He got off his chair, clearing his throat as he set his clipboard down. "Hello."

Clear gave him a small smile that only tugged at half his mouth. "Hi."

Aoba swallowed hard, "look, about what happened at the party, Clear, I was so drunk and I'm really-"

"I don't want to talk about it, Aoba." Clear said, his eyes soft. "I'm getting married tomorrow. I-maybe later. I don't want to hear it."

"Okay." He said softly. "Do you wanna just... Go, then?"

"Yeah, okay."

Aoba felt his heart breaking as he walked out the store with Clear in tow. He'd screwed things up, really badly. The only reason Clear was probably still talking to him was because he had to. Aoba was, in fact, his wedding planner. And that hurt. As he got into the car, Clear slid in next to him and he started it, turning on the heating. He sighed softly, "so what do you want to wear? A tux? A dress? You can wear women's clothing very well, so that's what I suggest."

Clear looked away at the comment, and Aoba realized he probably shouldn't have said it. "Um, yeah, and Mink wants me to wear a dress too. So that's probably it."

"Okay." Aoba said with a soft sigh. "I know a place." He said, pulling out of his small parking space and driving down the busy street. The snowflakes drifted down over his windshield - it was still snowing for some reason. It was probably appropriate, Christmas was in six days. Maybe they'd have a white Christmas. He glanced over to find Clear gazing out the window, his shoulders stiff. Aoba glanced back at the road and took a soft breath, focusing on driving.

"Usually, when people go dress shopping, they have family with them." Clear said softly.

"Yeah, that's true." Aoba said softly.

"I don't have anyone to look at the dress and tell me I'm beautiful." He whispered.

Aoba gazed over at him before saying, "I'll do that."

A small smile tugged at Clear's lips, "would you do it anytime?"

"Yeah."

"Then you cant!" Clear chuckled softly as he looked at him. "How do I know if I look better than I usually do to you?"

Aoba was smiling softly as well, "I don't know, maybe you'll see it on my face. How do you want me to look?"

Clear was silent for a few seconds. "I want you to look at me like you did last night. When you first saw me, with those boots and the skirt."

Aoba turned the corner, mumbling, "you want to look like sex appeal on a stick on your wedding day?"

Clear flushed, "no. I want to look stunning. Every bride and dress-wearing groom does."

"Yeah, I know." Aoba chuckled. They got to the dress shop quite quickly, Aoba parking out front and walking in with Clear in tow. Inside the shop, he greeted the woman wearing a fashionable suit, shaking hands with her. "Yura, hi, I'm so glad you can talk with us at such short notice."

The woman had long silver hair and a big smile like Clear's... Usually. "No problem, Aoba, anything for a friend. What can I do for you today?"

"Clear is getting married tomorrow." Aoba said with a small smile. 

"Tomorrow? Wow, that's incredibly late. But it's okay, we can have you walking out here with a dress no problem. It dosent leave you time to change your mind or anything if you get wedding jitters."

"I wont." Clear said softly. He looked a little less moody after their playful conversation.

"He wont." Aoba nodded. "He's very decisive."

"Well good. You can just hang out here while I go with Clear to pluck up a few dresses, alright?"

"Sure, thank you." Aoba said, moving to the couches were a few other people were waiting and sitting down. Clear and Yura disappeared behind the rows of dresses. After a few minutes of waiting for them someone came around and passed a glass of champagne to Aoba. He wasn't so sure if this was a good idea, considering last time's squabble with alcohol, but it was just champagne. Aoba had had it tons of times before (he was a wedding planner for fuck's sakes) and he knew he could handle a few glasses. He took a shy sip, just savouring the amazing taste as he gazed around at all of the happy brides.

After another few minutes, Clear walked out from the changing room to infront of the mirror wearing a very big dress, and white gloves that reached his elbows. It looked like he was Cinderella and the dress was amazing on him. Only problem was it had a slight indent to accommodate cleavage which Clear obviously didn't have. Clear tilted his head in the mirror, turning to reveal the back stopping at his shoulder blades. His shoulders were stiff, teeth biting at his lower lip in nerves. Clear didn't like to be exposed, Aoba realized.

"I don't really like this one." Clear said, before looking at Yura in horror, "not that it's not a beautiful dress! It's perfect! I love it. Just, not on me."

Yura chuckled softly, "relax! It's not like I designed it. Come on, lets go try a new one."

The next dress was more simple, but ten times more beautiful. It had shoulder straps, and hung loosely like it was twisting around Clear's body, the white fabric sparkly and soft. It crept up a little higher over Clear's back, but still exposed quite a lot. The train was a little long, but not too long, and just as sleek and beautiful Aoba's mouth went dry as he saw Clear walking out. This dress was perfect.

Clear gave a sheepish smile. "Do you... Like it?"

Aoba shook his head, "you really do look stunning."

"Really?" He chuckled nervously, "it's not too exposed at the top? I mean, my shoulders aren't really like girl shoulders-"

"Why are you worried about that?" Aoba asked with a soft chuckle. "They're perfect."

"Okay." Clear said softly. "Maybe.. How about a veil?"

"Sure, i'll be right back with a few." Yura declared before walking away quickly.

"Clear, are you trying to look like a girl for Mink?" Aoba asked after a few seconds.

"Kind of." Clear said softly, gazing at his own reflection in the great big mirrors. "I always liked wearing dresses, and skirts, and generally cross-dressing. And not because I want to be a girl or something. But Mink is straight."

Aoba choked on his champagne. "He's what?"

"He likes girls. He says that he's bisexual, but he's only ever been with girls." Clear said softly. "And I don't ever see him impressed or proud when I do something manly."

"Well... What's it like in the bedroom then?" Aoba frowned, genuinely curious.

Clear chuckled and shrugged, shaking his head. "It's... Wonderful for him I'm sure. But it's like he dosent even really care about me."

Aoba shook his head, rubbing his face. It wasn't like he could just tell Clear this was obviously a bad marriage to get into, that would seem very wrong coming from him. He gazed back at Clear, who was now taking the veil Yura was offering. He slid it into his fluffy hair, pulling the soft fabric over his face... And he was beautiful.

The wedding was just twenty hours away.

Twenty hours until kissing Clear again would be incredibly unacceptable. 

Twenty hours until holding his hand would be incredibly impossible.

Twenty hours until Aoba would never, ever see him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sidenote: Falu is a deep red that reminds me of Koujaku's kimono.


	8. Smaragdine

Aoba groaned quietly as his alarm went off, three short and loud beeps followed by a pause before starting it again.. And again... And again... He wished so badly he could roll over and ignore it. His hand slammed over his alarm clock before he sat up, quickly rushing across his room to grab clothes. Then he was rushing to the shower. He washed himself off quickly but meticulously, wanting to be clean and done with it very fast. Today was a big day. Not just for him, but for Clear and Mink also. He didn't hear the soft footsteps of a teenager in the hall as he dried off his hair quickly.

"Aoba, is Clear driving me today?" 

Aoba frowned, turning off the hair dryer and setting it down as he gazed at Sei, who was standing at the doorway. "Why would Clear drive you to school?"

"Oh, um." Sei's hands twined together, his gaze falling down. He had bed hair and bed eyes, his white clothing crinkled. "Well I thought you knew..."

"Knew what?"

"Clear drives me to school sometimes? He saw me waiting for the bus and offered to drive me a few times. Because we need to be at our schools at like the same times." Sei said softly.

"You accept drives to school from a stranger?" Aoba demanded, turning fully to Sei.

"Clear is our neighbour." Sei frowned. "You know him. He would never do anything to hurt me."

"That dosent mean you let him drive you to school!"

Sei was frowning. "Why not?"

"Because! After the wedding Clear is a stranger! "

"But he's our neighbour!" 

"Look, Sei, I'm really not in the mood to deal with this right now-"

"I'm your kid, you have to always be in the mood." 

"You're not my kid!" Aoba said hotly. 

Sei stopped short, eyes widening as he looked at Aoba before dropping to the floor instantly. To hide the sudden watering of his eyes, to hide the awful way his breathing went unbalanced. Sei had instantly taken it wrong.

"You're my brother." Aoba hurried to correct himself. That's what he'd meant. "Sei, I can drive you today, alright? I'm also picking you up at lunch to bring you to the wedding."

"But it's the last day of school before winter break!"

Aoba frowned, "yes? And?"

"I want to spend time with my friends." Sei said, his voice unusually strong and firm.

"And by friends you mean your boyfriend."

"No! And he's not my boyfriend!"

Aoba sighed, noticing the time and cursing. "Look, Sei, I'm sorry! You're just going to have to deal with it! You're coming to this wedding weather I have to drag you out of the school or not. At lunch, be at the front steps. Right now I'm leaving because I have to get some work done before I start with wedding planner stuff at the Oval tower. Do you want a ride to school or not?"

Sei shook his head, "I'll just take the bus." He muttered, walking away.

Aoba shook his head, turning on the hair dryer again and getting to work. Now that Sei wasn't shy and alone, he was starting to have a stronger voice on things and liking the concept of school more and more. Aoba wasn't used to it. He hoped that Sei's grades would improve with his mood, but for now he was focusing on spending more time with the kid. He knew having him come home and spend hours alone with just the TV was bad for him, and he wanted Sei to be at the wedding with him so it wouldn't be too depressing for him.

Aoba combed his hair out, setting the hair dryer down and sighing as he walked down the hall with his binder. He grabbed his thermos of coffee, hesitating near the door. "Are you sure?" He called up the stairs.

"I'm sure. Go away."

"Wear something nice for the wedding." Aoba called with a frustrated huff, before walking out the door to his car. He pulled his phone out and dialed a number carefully before he even turned it on, the phone hooking up to the speakers like usual. 

_"Hello?"_

"Yura, it's Aoba. Listen, I know we're not exactly friends, but I need to ask you a favour."

_"Sure, but you owe me, Seragaki."_

\---

At Aoba's shop he headed to Noiz' half first. The flower maker was blunt with his words and usually gave Aoba the facts straight up, with no shit. That was what he needed right now.

"How are Clear's flowers?" Aoba asked as he walked in, seeing Noiz packing a vase with flowers into a box.

"They're in, and they look pretty nice." Noiz shrugged. "Packing them now."

"But?" Aoba frowned at him.

"But what?" Noiz raised an eyebrow.

"What are you not telling me?" Aoba demanded. "What is it?!"

"I'm in love with you."

"What?" Aoba paled.

"Go talk to Koujaku!" Noiz said angrily. "I am not here for you to talk or vent your messed up emotions!"

Aoba glared at him for a few seconds before muttering, "fine," and heading out the door.

Noiz rolled his eyes, "to think I'm the youngest person here."

Aoba was padding back into the main room and through to the kitchen. His heart was beating nervously the way it always did when he was nearing the baker these days. He felt awful for how he'd lead Koujaku on, aware of it or not. "Jaku?" He called softly as he walked into the bakery. 

Koujaku was adding the finishing touches to Clear's cake. "Yes?" He asked softly. 

"That's beautiful." Aoba said as he walked over. 

And it really was. The cake was three small tiers, blue all over like the ocean, with blown sugar orbs over the top and small pearls surrounding it. It was a very pretty cake, and Aoba liked the sea colour because it reminded him of Clear's jellyfish. 

Aoba glanced back at Koujaku. "I'm sorry." 

"I know." 

"Yeah, but I'm not just sorry, Koujaku, I'm ashamed and emberassed and guilty and so many other horrible things but most of all I'm just begging you. Please be my friend again. I can't get by without you." He clasped his hands together. "Please. Wouldn't you rather be friends than enemies?"

Koujaku gazed at him before slowly sighing. "Yes," he nodded, "I would defenitely want to be your friend. I just feel..."

"Feel what?" 

"I feel like you hate me, honestly."

"Hate you?" Aoba asked in suprise. "Why would I hate you?" 

He shrugged, "because of my feelings for you. Because I brought you to bed without even really checking to see if you gave proper consent." 

"Hey, don't be like that." Aoba frowned gently. "Koujaku, in all honesty, out of all of the people in the entire club I was the most releived when I saw you naked next to me." 

Koujaku's eyebrows rose. "Really?"

"Of course!! I would take you over a stranger any day. Because I don't remember any of it but I know exactly how you treated me. Because I know you." He shrugged lightly, flashing a smile. "And that's awesome."

"It is." Koujaku said with a small smile. "You wouldn't... Rather have woken up with Clear?"

"Clear is getting married today, just like you said." Aoba said quietly. "We would both be consumed by guilt." 

"And not Noiz?"

Aoba laughed, shaking his head. "Not Noiz! Piercings scare me." 

"But not tattoos."

"No." Aoba shook his head, smiling. "I love you, in the friends way. The tattoos are part of you. So I love them too." 

"That's sweet." Koujaku said softly. 

"Yeah." Aoba grinned. "So can we please be friends again? Please? I miss your smiles so much." 

Koujaku rolled his eyes, "fine..."

"Yay!" Aoba rushed over to him, hugging his arms tightly around his torso. "Thank you, Jaku."

"Mhm." He hugged him back tightly. "Now I'll spend the rest of my life trying to get over you. Awesome..."

Aoba flushed, ashamed, "sorry... I didn't know you felt so strongly."

"Yeah, well, don't worry about it." Koujaku said softly. "Because I'll always have your back, no matter what."

Aoba tucked his head into Koujaku's neck, pressing it there and sighing quietly. "Thank you." 

"Of course, Aoba."

\---

On the other side of town in the school, Sei was lifting his backpack out of the locker he used and closing it after pulling the bag over his shoulder. He'd cooled down after this morning, but was still a bit upset when he got to school. Mizuki had noticed how upset he was and took Sei to a deserted hall for a small kiss where no one else could see. Sei's cheeks flushed just remembering it. Mizuki knew him well, despite how they were just new friends... Or more? Sei still wasn't sure what they were. But he definitely didn't want it to change.

Sei walked through the halls, his white boots tapping softly against the ground as he turned into the office. "Hi. I'm signing out." He said quietly. "I'm going to a wedding."

The woman at the desk nodded, pulling up a small piece of paper from a stack of many. "Your name?"

"Sei Seragaki."

"Are you coming back today?"

"No." Sei said with a small smile. "School's almost over for today. But I got all of my homework. And I'm caught up for everything for winter break."

The secretary chuckled, "relax, I'm glad you're very dedicated." She passed him the note. "Bring this to your last teacher and you can leave."

"Thank you." Sei answered, taking the note and looking at it before hesitating. "What colour is this? Just out of curiosity." Aoba had called the school just to notify his teachers about his colour blindness but he didn't know if the secretary knew.

Apparently not. "Uh... Yellow?" She looked suspiciously at him.

"Yellow." Sei looked down at the note as he turned and walked away. It was yellow. Which meant his eyes were lying and he was seeing it wrong. It looked... White? But was his white actually white? Before Sei's eyes could start watering up in confusion he pushed his head up, blinking and heading to his last class. He could see through the window of the door all of the students were seated, the teacher pacing by his desk and talking loudly. Nerves coiled up in Sei's stomach and he hesitated, not wanting all of those eyes on him. He reached up and pressed the sticky note to the door before turning and heading back to the front doors.

Having avoided the thunder, he headed down the steps outside, the fresh, slightly greasy smell of the city washing over him. It was better than inside the school that smelled like white out and chalk and energy drinks.

"Sei!"

Sei looked behind himself, a smile spreading over his face without him even noticing. "Mizuki?"

"What're you doing outside here, Sei?"

"I told you, this morning, Mizuki." Sei smiled as the slightly taller boy walked straight up to him. He was wearing his usual leather jacket, maroon hair styled perfectly around his face, his white smile on and charm off the charts. His familiar smell washed around Sei, like leather and something unidentifiable. Like how water tasted; perfect and amazing yet simple and refreshing. "I was, uh, I have this wedding I want to go to."

"Really? That's so strange, I'm going to a wedding as well today."

"Why didn't you tell me this morning?" Sei asked with a frown.

"My mom called me. She said I was going to a wedding."

"Oh?" Sei looked back to the road, taking a deep breath and trying to calm his fast heartbeat. "Where- where is she?"

"Aoba is giving me a ride."

Sei's smile slipped slightly as he looked back, because _no way this was not happening_ "um, then what wedding are you going to?"

"Clear's, right? Uh, that's his name? I kinda forgot..."

"You're coming to the wedding with me?" He asked in excitement. "Really!!! How?"

"Aoba called in a favour to my mom, who owns a wedding dress shop. I didn't even know but apparently they're good friends. He offered to take me to the wedding today and for some reason she thought it was a good idea!" Mizuki grinned. "Are you happy?"

"Happy? Yes, I'm happy!" Sei exclaimed. He lurched forward, hugging Mizuki tightly and feeling the other's strong arms wrap back around him. "This is so awesome!"

Mizuki laughed into his ear. "Well good, I wasn't sure how you'd react."

Sei pulled back, smiling shyly. "Well, I like you. I like being around you."

"I like you too." He smiled back.

Sei glanced back as he heard a car pulling in to the curb. It was Aoba, of course, in his car. "Are you lovebirds ready?"

"You cant call us lovebirds." Mizuki called out playfully. "You're a wedding planner."

"Get in the car." Aoba rolled his eyes with a smile.

Sei opened the car door, crawling in behind Aoba's seat and leaning forward. "Thank you!" He whispered when Mizuki wasn't listening, squeezing his shoulder. He pulled back as the other settled down in the other chair, smiling at him and placing his hand in the middle between the seats. Sei's heart jumped slightly as he looked over at it. He nervously placed his hand next to Mizuki's, not sure what to do. His heart hammered hard as Mizuki twined their fingers together, squeezing his hand slightly. He gave a nervous, grinning chuckle as his cheeks flushed, pulling his backpack off and setting it between his feet.

Up infront, Aoba smiled and shook his head as he pulled away from the curb.

\---

As soon as Aoba led the boys into the hotel, he turned to them with a sigh. "Alright. You guys can do whatever you want. Have lunch, explore the hotel, buy ice cream, whatever. No going upstairs, and don't be too loud. No disturbing guests or you will be thrown out. If anyone asks you what you're doing here just say you're here for the wedding. If that isn't enough tell them to come take it up with me, okay?"

"Okay." Sei echoed while Mizuki nodded curtly.

"Okay, here's some money, it should be enough for lunch at the restaurant for both of you. I have to go work, we probably wont see each other until the wedding if you're good. Make sure to go to the ceremony and pick a seat before it starts. I'll see you then, okay?" Aoba said as he gave Sei some money.

"Wow." Sei said softly, pocketing it with a smile and grinning at Mizkui. They had a few hours to just hang out and be together. "Thanks, Aoba. We'll be good, I promise."

"Good." Aoba sighed, knowing he could trust Sei that they wouldn't do anything inappropriate or dangerous. He leaned down, pressing a kiss to Sei's pitch black hair. "Okay. I have to go, and I will see you later." He said, waving at the grinning teenagers before heading off quickly down the halls.

He knew he needed to check over every detail of the wedding and first went to the hotel lobby to ask about the food. He tasted some of the appetizers and checked over the main dinner, making sure everything was going to be perfect and how Clear had requested it. After completing a few more errands that took less than an hour he went to the reception room, seeing Koujaku and Noiz already starting to set up the place with some of the hotel staff. Noiz' flowers were on point, and Koujaku was helping with the tablecloths and arrangement. 

"Koujaku!" Aoba called. "When are you bringing the cake?"

"As soon as we're done with this. It's going right here." Koujaku set his hands on the head table. 

"Okay, good job. I'm going to go check on Clear. Keep me posted."

"Alright." Koujaku called back. "Good luck."

"Don't need it." He said happily, leaving the room and heading to the elevator. As the doors closed he pressed the button for the first floor up, combing his fingers through his hair with a sigh. Should he go to Mink or Clear first? They were both already here, according to the concierge, getting ready for the wedding which was in just a little while. But apparently Mink didn't need the wedding planner to come check on him. Clear did want Aoba to come though. Aoba had learned that Clear did have family to witness his wedding, but they hadn't come for the dress picking because they didn't approve of Clear cross dressing. They were accepting of him marrying another man, but not wearing female clothes. That confused Aoba, but he didn't want to seem rude so he wouldn't mention it. 

He walked down the corridor and headed to Clear's room, double checking the number and knocking loudly. "Wedding planner here!"

The door was opened by someone who looked almost exactly like Clear but shorter. As Aoba watched another one appeared, a grin spreading across his face. They looked like teenagers, older than Sei but younger than Clear. "Your girlfriend's here, Clear!" One of them called.

"My what?" Clear's soft voice called from inside of the room. 

"It's me." Aoba called with a chuckle.

"Oh, boys, let him in." Called a reprimanding male voice, coming closer. The boys disappeared and a man opened the door, stepping back to let Aoba in. He didn't look very much like Clear, with short brown hair and a stern face. Aoba couldn't tell if he looked happy or not. He looked mostly just apprehensive. "Come in."

Aoba smiled gratefully, stepping in with a soft, "thank you," and walking into the room.

Clear was inside the room sitting on the bed, already wearing his beautiful dress. In his hair, pushed right behind his bangs, was a small headband with blue and white crystals that went perfectly with the dress. He looked beautiful but distressed, like he was about to cry and laugh at the same time. 

Next to him were two perfectly identical shorter versions of him, wearing suits of their own and laughing. The twins who had opened the door. "I still think you should go and buy a suit!" One of them exclaimed.

The other laughed and pointed to Aoba. "He looks like a girl as well and looks fine in a suit."

"Boys! Don't say that!" Clear sighed, "I'm so sorry, Aoba. It's been like this all day, Mink got really upset about them. These are my younger twin brothers. We're not triplets though."

The man scolded again, walking up from behind Aoba. "You two! Be nice to Clear and the wedding planner! If they want to wear suits or dresses it's their choice."

"And I think Clear looks just as stunning in a dress as he would in a suit." Aoba said firmly. "You two should be helping your bother to feel confident. This is the biggest day of his life and he's probably extremely nervous, and you are not helping." He said with a frown to the now embarrassed looking twins.

Clear flushed lightly. "Thank you, Aoba..."

Aoba then turned to the man, offering a hand to shake and a smile. "Hi. I'm Aoba Seragaki, the wedding planner."

The man shook his hand back. "I'm Clear's grandfather." He looked back at Clear, and Aoba could detect a hint of concern for him. Something was definitely up with Clear.

"Nice to meet you." He nodded lightly before walking over to Clear and sitting down next to him as the twins scattered away.

Clear's hands were shaking slightly as he gazed down at them. He was taking deep, nervous breaths. "I'm getting married."

Aoba gently rubbed his arm. "Yeah... You are, are you happy?"

"No, I'm nervous." Clear sighed shakily.

"Yeah? That's good, I think. You're supposed to be nervous when you're getting married. It's a good sign." Aoba said, continuing to rub his shoulder gently.

"A good sign." Clear repeated, looking uncertain.

"Yes. It's good." He nodded lightly.

"You don't sound so sure." Clear looked up at Aoba with watery eyes. 

"I'm not." Aoba shook his head, and Clear leaned forward to hug him tightly. Aoba hugged him back, rubbing his back and sighing softly. "Don't worry, okay? You're going to get married, and start your life with Mink. Don't worry."

"I'm not- well I am worried, I just don't know what to say." Clear murmured.

"You don't have to say anything until they ask." Aoba chuckled softly.

"Right." Clear said softly into his shoulder.

Aoba pulled his phone out of his jacket with a sigh. "It's time. Who's walking him down the isle?" He asked, still hugging Clear and looking over his shoulder. 

"I am." Clear's grandfather said, raising his hand.

"Alright, well the twins should go leave and sit down." Aoba said with a flick of his wrist. "Go. We're almost ready to walk."

The twins walked off and Aoba kept rubbing Clear's back before pulling away. "Are you ready?"

"No!" Clear obviously looked like he wanted to just curl up in Aoba's arms and stay there until it was all over.

"Come on." Aoba said softly, taking Clear's hands and squeezing lightly. "You have to. Lets go."

"Okay." Clear mumbled, letting Aoba pull him over to his grandfather and push his hands into his grandfather's. "Alright. You're going to walk him down, and then give him over. It's really simple." Aoba promised.

The elevator ride down was a hard, tense situation with the three men. Clear kept his hand in Aoba's, and didn't let go until he absolutely had to because of the walk into the ceremony.

"Good luck." He said quietly, rubbing Clear's shoulder again. "Have fun out there." 

"Thank you." He said softly. "For all of this. I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Aoba asked with a frown.

"Nothing." Clear shook his head. "I should go. Lets walk."

"Yeah." He said softly. "Go on. Get married." 

The doors opened to the room and it was beautiful inside. The room was small, with white drapery and orange highlights. The chairs had white silk laced between them and orange roses here and there. Aoba didn't know how Clear saw it, but apparently it was beautiful. Clear looked shaken, whispering a soft, "wow," as he gazed around and his grandfather took his hands. He gave one look to Aoba, whispering a tiny thank you before he was led away. 

Clear looked shaky and nervous once he got to the alter, but managed a smile for Mink as they joined hands. The officiant started talking, welcoming everyone as Aoba took a seat far back behind the doors. He noticed Sei and Mizuki a few seats up near some other people, watching the wedding and staying quiet. Aoba's focus was on Clear, who was starting to look slightly scared for the question. The one question that would seal it all. The 'I do.'

Aoba thought about leaving, because his heart hurt seeing Clear so scared when he should be so happy. He started to move back but then shook his head, resolving to stay.

And then it came, the minister asked Clear.

Clear stilled looked terrified. There were tears in his eyes, and a small sound escaped his throat. He took a deep breath and looked at Mink, meeting his eyes squarely for the first time. "When I grew up, my mom kept on telling me that all I should do is follow my heart. If I followed my heart then I would always be fine and that's all I remember of her before she died." He said quickly, shaking his head as he babbled. "And if there's anything I remember right now it's that. And- if I say yes I'm not staying true to that."

Mink looked confused, staring down at him and shaking his head. "Um... What? Why?"

"Because I don't love you." Clear said, the tears dripping down his cheeks. "And you don't love me. Not the way we should. Not the way we want to."

Aoba felt his heart stutter and stop. He didn't know what was going on.

"We should just-" Clear shook his head, his tone breathless. Then his eyes shifted, turning to focus on Aoba. "I cant do this. I cant anymore."

"Clear?" He whispered, feeling a lot of eyes shift to him. Including Mink's.

Clear pulled his skirt up, revealing his bare feet as he jumped off the stage and to the floor, jogging across the room and past all of the seats of confused people, hurling himself into Aoba's arms. The blue haired man gasped, arms pulling around Clear's waist tightly.

"I love you." Clear breathed, hugging him hard. "I love you, I think, and I cant stop thinking about it, and I was so scared I'd never see you again, and that would kill me-"

"Calm down," Aoba whispered, his hands sliding up to comb through Clear's soft hair. He closed his eyes shut tight, he didn't want to see everyone's horrified faces. He'd just ruined the wedding. "Its okay. Everything's going to be okay."

They'd ruined the wedding together because of everything that had happened.

But now Aoba had Clear.

\---

After that people had started to talk loudly, exclamations of 'who the hell is that' and 'what's going on' and 'the wedding planner?'. Aoba couldn't believe it. He simply moved his arms down, picking Clear up and carrying him out of the room. He brought him to the closest place he could think of, which was the reception room. Clear was laughing and sobbing like crazy over his back, which was worrying Aoba, but he just kept going.

Clear pushed himself up, looking around the room curiously as Aoba set him down in a chair. "This room is so beautiful... Was this for me?"

"You and Mink." Aoba said softly.

Hearing that made Clear's eyes water again, and he looked at the table they were sitting at. The cake was there, giant and proud and beautiful. "That looks delicious..."

"Well it is almost dinner." He said softly.

"And I haven't eaten all day. I felt like I was going to throw up."

"Really?" Aoba asked softly.

"Yeah." Clear shook his head, the tears sliding down his cheeks slowly. "I messed everything up."

"You did." He said softly.

Clear wiped his eyes, the attempt futile. His cheeks were still very wet.

Aoba pulled a small plate over, cutting a small slice of cake and serving it on the plate. He pushed it over to Clear, who took it hesitantly. "I'll still pay you, in full of course." Clear said softly. "You- you worked so hard."

"Thanks." Aoba nodded lightly.

Clear picked up the fork, stabbing weakly at the cake. It was a deep red inside, the red velvet he loved so much. "Thank you." He whispered.

"For what?"

"For not hating me. Everyone hates me now." He said softly.

"Sei dosent hate you." Aoba said after a few seconds, giving a tiny smile.

Clear gave a tiny attempt at a smile. "Sei's such a good kid."

"He is." He agreed softly. "Thank you for driving him to school sometimes."

There was a stretch of silence, Clear ate a few pieces of the cake as the tears kept rolling down his face.

"Aoba."

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you a favour?"

Aoba reached over, pushing a snow white strand out of Clear's face. "Yes."

"Get me away from here?"

Aoba nodded slowly. "Yeah." He said softly. "Sure. I'll get the kids. Then we're out of here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love to hear your thoughts about all of this STUFF that just happened! One more chapter! What should I put in it?


	9. Evergreen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter wasn't as much work as I thought it would be so here it is right now!

_Five days later_

\---

Aoba pulled a hat on over his hair, smiling as it pushed his bangs down into his eyes. The hat was a Christmas hat, a deep red colour with white trim and a large pom pom on the end. He let the tail fall over his shoulder, smirking slightly. It looked cute. He liked it. And he was feeling mischievous. Heading out to the hall, Aoba walked across and placed his hand on one of the doorknobs, twisting it open. The room was dark and Sei was curled up under his blankets, snoring softly. It was six AM, and he was going to kill Aoba.

Aoba inched over, suddenly opening his mouth with a yell as he grabbed Sei's arm. The teenager screamed out, arms flailing as he sat up. "What the hell?" He shouted back.

Aoba laughed, setting his hands on his shoulders. "It's Christmas!"

"You're insane!" Sei shouted. "I don't care if it's my birthday, I thought I was going to get murdered!"

Aoba doubled over in laughter, "calm down! I'm sorry!"

Sei grumbled and pushed the blankets off of himself with an irritated shove. "You're insane. I could have had a panic attack."

"Well now you get presents!"

"Presents?" Sei asked, suddenly exited again.

"Of course, silly." He rolled his eyes. "It's _Christmas._ "

Sei got to his feet and took off down the hall, Aoba hot on his heels as he ran after him.

Downstairs their tree wasn't extremely tall, but it was covered in sparkling ornaments and beautiful. This morning it was glittering in the dark, the tiny fairy lights on to light up the room beautifully. The yellow glow reflected off onto the many presents tucked underneath the tree. The house was completely silent other than the soft hum of the oven, the world at a quiet moment just before sunrise.

"Wow." Sei whispered, padding down the rest of the stairs and collapsing next to the sofa. The air smelled like cinnamon. He grinned back at Aoba. "Come on!!! Can we open them?"

"In a few seconds." Aoba laughed, sitting down on the sofa before glancing back at the kitchen. "Hey, come on! Sei's impatient!"

"I'm sorry, it's hot!" A sweet laugh sounded, followed by footsteps to the tree. "I made banana bread, I hope that's okay for breakfast."

"Thank you, Clear!" Sei smiled as Clear set the plate down, full of slices of the treat. He took one and started eating it before looking back at the presents.

"That's perfect for breakfast." Aoba reached up and pulled an arm around his waist, tugging him down to sit next to him. "Thank you."

Clear smiled shyly as he sat down next to Aoba, the blue haired man's arm pulling around his waist. "Okay."

"Has Mink talked to you at all?" Aoba asked softly.

"No." Clear said softly, his smile slipping. "After he moved away to the apartment in town, we haven't talked at all. We left on good terms though. He understands."

Aoba frowned, wanting to say something. He kept silent and leaned in, gently pressing their lips together. He felt Clear tense like normal before leaning in as well and kissing him back. It was soft and sweet and chaste before Aoba pulled away. Clear looked amazed and breathless like he always did after they kissed. A small smile grew on his face, cheeks warming as he pulled the plate of banana bread over. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes, thank you." Aoba smiled as he picked up a piece, eagerly biting into the cinnamon smelling bread. It was really delicious.

By that time Sei had unwrapped his present and was holding the pieces up. It was a striped black and white skirt, as well as white leather fingerless gloves. Aoba already knew they fit him perfectly.

"Thank you!" Sei breathed happily, pulling the white gloves on. "They're beautiful!" He reached down and lifted a blue present with yellow ribbon and passing it to Aoba. "Here, your turn! It's from Clear to Aoba."

"You got me a present?" Aoba smiled, taking the small box with a surprised look.

"You've been housing me the past five days." He said softly, grinning. "It's the least I could do. This is my thank you."

Aoba tore through the packaging to reveal a large square white box, with a picture of a pair of pink headphones on the sides. Aoba instantly loved them, and opened the box to pull them out. "Wow, these look very high quality - thank you..." The amazing gift reminded Aoba of his own, and excitement fluttered in his stomach.

"No problem." Clear grinned. "I'm glad you like them."

Aoba tucked them back into the box, chuckling, "you guys exchange presents, I'll be right back. I have to prepare a special present."

"You didn't put all of your presents under the tree?" Sei asked, appalled. "You are the worst Santa ever." He said, obviously teasing.

Clear smirked, in on the present. "Of course. Hurry back."

Aoba got up, heading up to his room and shutting the door behind himself. Next to his bed there was a large black cage, positioned so if you opened the door you couldn't see it behind his bed. It had been there for about a day now. He picked up a large pink box from the desk, setting it down and pressing a pillow into the bottom. He opened the black cage, reaching in a pulling up a small bundle of fur after kissing it's small head. He tucked the fuzzy thing into the box, lifting it into his arms carefully and quickly leaving his room. He smiled down into the box at the shifting ball of fur, before carefully covering it up.

"Thank you for the gift, Sei." Clear was saying as Aoba walked back into the room. In his lap was his silver furred cat, purring in content. She lived here now as well. 

"No problem!" Sei said happily before noticing Aoba. "What's that?"

"Another present and you get to open it now." He smirked, holding it straight so the creature inside wouldn't topple around. "Just take the lid off." He said, holding it out to him.

Sei stood up and lifted the lid, jaw dropping in surprise as he reached inside and carefully lifted the tiny pup. "Oh my god..."

Aoba smirked as he set the box down and sat down next to Clear, who was watching him with loving eyes.

Sei turned the small bundle of midnight blue fur, the dog's small head raising and sniffing Sei with large black eyes. His foot pads were light pink, so was his stuck out tongue. As Sei pulled him close to his chest, the dog's fluffy tail wagged in excitement. 

"Do you like him?" Aoba asked hopefully. 

"I love him!" He said softly, lifting the dog again to look at him. "I'm gonna call you Ren, and I'll take such good care of you." He whispered pressed the dog's forehead to his. "We're going to be best friends..." The dog's paws pressed to his chin, the dog's head bobbing as he licked at his cheeks. 

Aoba smiled and laced his fingers through Clear's. "Did you get the puppy food?" He asked softly.

"It's in my closet." He nodded. "I got a leash and collar as well."

"That's perfect." Aoba said softly, smiling.

Clear flushed slightly after a few more seconds, "why are you staring at me?"

Aoba shrugged lightly. "Because... You're perfect." He finished with a smile.

"I'm not perfect."

"You're perfect for me." Aoba said softly, reaching up and touching Clear's cheek. Now it was so much easier for them to just touch each other when they wanted to. It had so far only been small kisses and hugs and hand holding, they weren't sure what they were yet, but they could do it. Because Clear wasn't bound to Mink anymore, and Aoba wasn't planning Clear's wedding. After everything, they were together. And that was amazing.

Clear smiled shyly, leaning into Aoba's touch. "What are the odds that you're perfect for me as well?"

Aoba smiled back and leaned in. He kissed Clear softly, trying to think of an answer. "Very slim." He sighed against his mouth before continuing the sweet kiss.

"You guys are so gross, come on, we have more presents to open!"

"Fine, you're so impatient." Aoba laughed as he pulled back.

"I'm good." Sei smiled, pressing another small present into his hand. "Go, go go!"

Aoba laughed and felt Clear press a kiss to his cheek. After a few seconds he looked down, smiling as he tore through the wrapping paper. His other hand snuck down to Clear's, fingers lacing through tightly. He wasn't going to let go for a very long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. I'd love to hear some feedback!


End file.
